Out of the past
by Fen2011
Summary: What happens when the searcher becomes the missing? What happened when private life is not private anymore? What happens when the past haunts the presant and the future? Please R & R.
1. Chapter 1

As always a huge, huge thanks to my wonderful beta anmodo for betaing this fic.

**Out of the past**

**Chapter 1**

**Monday 6th December – 2000 hours**

He ran down a narrow alleyway, hoping that he had lost the men that pursued him. But with each faltering step, he drew them closer. Sweat drenched his body; the bitter in his mouth had long since given way to a coppery taste. He looked behind himself – hoping the men that would end his life weren't behind him. Suddenly, he felt fire rage through his body and fell to the ground. Managing to crawl behind a crate, he gritted his teeth as he clutched his injured shoulder. He didn't know who he could trust; he was safer on his own. Closing his eyes, he felt blood tickle down his arm again. What could he do – he didn't think he could trust anyone, he would just have to deal with the wound like he did before and hopefully he wouldn't die from it. As he heard orders being yelled in Spanish, he forced himself to stand. He would have to leave New York tonight. Maybe if he made it to Mexico, then maybe he would he safe. But then again, maybe he would end up lying in the gutter with a bullet in his head like his brother had. Scanning the alleyway, he continued his descent into hell.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**Tuesday 7th December – 0830 hours**

**26 Federal Plaza, Manhattan**

Sighing, Jack leaned back in his chair as he looked at the paperwork that covered his desk. He knew he had to tackle it some time soon, but not right now. No it could wait a few more hours. Glancing out of his glass doors to the bullpen, he frowned slightly – his newest addition to the team hadn't arrived yet. This slightly worried him because Danny had quickly developed the habit of being the first to arrive and last to leave. He glanced at his watch. Danny was only slightly late there was no need to panic – he had probably got caught up in traffic. But lateness and panicking came with the job. No. He was just paranoid. Danny would appear in a few minutes, apologising and then work to some unnecessary, ungodly hour to make up of it.

He groaned as he looked at the paperwork again, paperwork that would wait, maybe there would be a case when he walked into the bullpen – but he doubted it.

"Have we got a case yet?" Jack asked as he walked into the bullpen.

"No," Viv groaned. "Just paperwork!" she exclaimed and held her head in her heads for added affected.

Jack smirked at Viv's dramatic expression. Vivian Johnson had been on his team for five years, he knew she was going to move on soon. But she was a great, experienced agent and a great friend. "Danny in yet?"

"No," Viv said as she scanned the office. She liked Jack's newest addition to the team. The kid was young and green, but so enthusiastic and willing to learn. She knew many people had been sceptical about Danny joining the team; she had been one of them and still was to some degree. But the kid was proving them wrong. "Relax, Jack. The kid had drives here from the Bronx, he's probably caught up in traffic," she added.

"You're probably right. But Viv, he's not a kid, he's twenty-five," Jack said with a slight smile.

"Twenty-five!" Viv exclaimed in mock shock. "That's still a baby, in my opinion. Seriously Jack. Compared to me, you and Phil, he's a kid. A good, intelligent, brave kid and will be a damn good agent but he's still a kid."

Rolling his eyes, Jack found himself smiling. Everyone had frowned and warned him about recruiting such a young agent, especially Danny, to his team. They told him that he needed experience not youth. He told them that he trusted his gut and his gut told him that Danny was the right choice and besides he needed to bring youth to the team. He wanted a young intelligent, enthusiastic agent that he could nurture – Danny was that agent. He knew about Danny's rough start in life. He knew about his alcoholism, but that in a funny way, made him more appealing. He had seen life from both sides; he knew all to well about the horrors of the world. He just hoped that he would relax more and be comfortable to push his ideas. He shook his head as he pulled himself out his thoughts.

"Jack, Danny's fine. If anyone knows how to look after themselves, its Danny," Viv reassured as she noticed her boss and friend's distant expression.

"I am sure you're right, it's just…well, I guess it comes with the job," Jack explained cautiously.

"What's with the glum face?" Phil Glanville asked as he strode across the bullpen with a mug of streaming coffee.

"Jack's worried about Danny," Viv explained. "He's not in yet."

Phil frowned and looked at his watch; Danny was only half an hour late. He didn't understand or care why Jack was concerned nor did he understand why Jack had recruited a good for nothing alcoholic to the team. What benefit would it bring? "Danny's fine, don't worry about it, he's probably caught up in traffic," he said in an off-handed way.

"I'm sure you're both right," Jack sighed, as he sat down and grabbed a section of the New York Times. But in the back of his mind he knew there something wrong. His gut screamed to check on Danny now, his brain told him to wait a couple of hours.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**Tuesday 7th December – 1100 hours**

**26 Federal Plaza, Manhattan**

Jack cursed as his next call went to voicemail again. He pulled up Danny's personal file and checked the address before taking a set of keys. Something was wrong, very wrong. There was no way Danny would be a couple of hours later. And the fact that he hadn't called in made his gut churn.

"I will be out for about an hour," Jack called out as he crossed the bullpen.

"Where are you going?" Viv asked but she already knew the answer.

"I'm going to check on Danny," Jack replied. He glared at Phil. Phil was a good agent. In fact, he was a great agent, but Jack didn't understand what Phil's problem was when it came to Danny. As far he knew, Danny had done nothing to Phil. "Look it's out of character for him to be this late and not call."

Phil shrugged. "Fine enough," he said in indifferently. "I will call if we get a case."

Jack nodded before he headed towards the elevators. He stared at the cold metal doors as they slid shut. Something was wrong – very wrong. He hoped that he would knock on the door to find Danny had over slept; even an ill Danny was good at this moment. Lost in his thoughts, he walked across the parking lot to his car, the whole time hoping to see Danny's car fly in. But as he climbed into his car, he knew that wouldn't be the case. He tried to think of positive thoughts in his drive out to the Bronx, but his thoughts kept returning to dark ones.

He checked the address again, as he pulled outside Danny's address. He took a couple of hesitant steps towards the apartment building. He pushed open the half open door in to a stairwell. Neon lights flickered and the paint was peeling off the walls. He heard drunken ramblings and women yelling. He quickly made his way across the filthy, greasy floor to elevator, where he furiously stabbed the button. He scanned the area looking for any sign of a threat. He waited for a while before he yanked the elevator shaft door open – he looked up and down the shaft to find no elevator. He groaned in frustration before he slammed the cage door shut again and stormed up the stairs. As someone stumbled down the stairs towards him, he tried to avoid them without pinning himself against the wall. He had glanced at it before and had observed through the flickering neon lights – the peeling paint and years old blood stains, but his other sense told him that blood wasn't the only bodily fluids. A woman, not more that a girl, stumbled towards him – her eyes glazed, her arms adorned with needle marks. Jack closed his eyes briefly as he came to Danny's door – he knew the federal government didn't pay top dollar but it certainly didn't pay this badly. Why the hell was Danny living in this dump? He deserved better. Shaking his head, he pulled himself out of his thoughts and knocked on the door.

"Danny," he called out. He knocked again when he didn't get a response. "Danny, its Jack."

Jack waited and hoped for a bit longer, before he pulled Danny's key out and opened the door. "Danny," he called out into the apartment.

He quickly moved into the tiny apartment his hands resting on his gun and gasped. In one smooth action, in upholstered his gun and started to move through the apartment – it was completely ransacked, not that it looked like there was much in the apartment in the first place. The small couch had be sliced open, its foam spread around the room like confetti. Books had been pulled from the shelves, boxes had been turned over.

"Danny," Jack called out again as he moved towards the bathroom. But the scene he was met with made him weak at the knees. He grasped the door frame for support, his gut had been right – something was wrong. Very wrong. He closed his eyes and blinked several times as if this would make the image disappear. But it hadn't. The tiny bathroom was covered in blood, so fresh that the coppery smell made him gag. He stared at the blood soaked towels and with trembling fingers he pulled out his cell phone.

"V-Viv," he stammered in a small distant voice. "I need a forensic unit at Danny's apartment ASAP."

TBC?


	2. Chapter 2

**Huge thanks to anmodo as always for betaing this fic. And thanks to everyone that has reviewed so far. Oh and I forgot to say this fic will be told in the same format as a Without a Trace episode.**

**Chapter 2**

**Tuesday 7th December – 1130 hours**

**Danny's apartment – South Bronx**

Jack stood in a daze as the various people started to filter into Danny's apartment. He couldn't look at the bathroom any longer – too afraid to think of what had happened to his agent. He leant against the wall and closed his eyes. What the hell had happened to Danny? He lived in a shit hole of apartments, but he was smart and highly trained.

"Jack!"

He spun around to meet the voice, to see the remaining two agents on his team. He was lost for words; he didn't know what to say. All he could do was stand and stare as the forensic guys torn through Danny's ransacked apartment.

"Jack," Viv tried again when she didn't get a response. She held her hand to her to mouth as she surveyed the damage. "Jack what the hell happened in here? Where's Danny?"

"I don't know, hopefully the forensic unit will tell us," Jack replied in a distant voice. He looked around the apartment and closed his eyes. What had happened? Did he want to know? With the state of the bathroom he knew it wasn't good.

"Agent Malone," one of forensic guys called out. "Agent Malone, there is something you should see."

Jack frowned and nervously walked towards the bathroom – dreading what he was about to find out. He took a breath as he walked into the tiny blood stained bathroom. "Yes," asked. he tried to keep the fear out of his voice, but as soon as the words left his mouth he knew he had failed.

"U-mm, w-we found this," Agent Simpson stammered – nervous of how Jack would react. He knew Jack's reputation of being fiercely protective over his team. As he held up the small, blood stained, crumpled metal object, he closed his eyes and winced anticipation of Jack's reaction.

Jack gasped and grabbed hold of the door frame for support. He bit back the pile that was rising in his throat. Just what the hell had happened? He now knew what was the cause of all of this blood. But if Danny had been shot why the hell hadn't he contacted him or at the very least seeked medical attention, Jack thought. He continued to stare at the blood stained bullet, as he tried to find his voice again. "How long will it take you to get a DNA match?" he asked in a small, shaky voice.

"A few hours," Agent Simpson replied.

"What about blood type?" Jack asked.

"A few minutes, but I doubt that's going to help."

"Please just do it," Jack asked quietly

"Jack?" Viv said as she came beside him. She observed his nervous body language and added. "What's happening – oh my god," she exclaimed and covered her mouth as she stared at the blood stained bathroom. She took a couple of calming breaths before continuing. "There's something else isn't there Jack."

"U-mm, u-mm yes, yes there is," Jack stammered, not knowing what to how to tell her about what they had discovered in the bathroom. "Viv they found a bullet."

Viv felt as though the air had been sucked from her lungs. She didn't know what to say. "U-mm but Jack we don't what happened. It might not be Danny's blood."

"Viv if its not Danny's blood then why is it in Danny's bathroom?" Jack asked. He didn't think his agent would shot someone and run away but then again a few hours ago he didn't think his latest case would be one of his agents. He closed his eyes briefly before staring into the bathroom again. He raked his hands through his hair as he waited for the blood group test. But he knew what the result was going to be. He knew it was Danny's blood, but if it was Danny's blood where was Danny? He stood outside looking into the bathroom, it was as thought he could see what happened to Danny.

Fade in

_Danny staggered into his apartment; he quickly slammed the door and leant against the wall as he felt the room spin. Pain tore through his shoulder; his breath came in short, ragged bursts. He scanned his apartment for something that he could wedge against the door. He knew he didn't have the strength to anything heavy with one arm across his tiny apartment, so the chair would have to do. After he wedged it under the door handle, he staggered to the bathroom and collapsed against a wall – letting himself slide down it. He balled up and a towel and pressed against the still bleeding wound. He felt tears of pain stream down his and bit down on his lip to prevent himself from crying out. His life as he knew it was over – not that anyone cared about it apart from himself. He didn't know who he could trust. Going to hospital was top dangerous. He didn't care about his life but he did care about the people at the hospital that he could put at risk if he went. He didn't think he could trust his new colleagues – he had only known them for three weeks. And he could help thinking that he had seen Phil somewhere else._

_He pulled back the towel; it seemed that bleeding had slowed. But he would have to deal with the wound now; he didn't have any other choice. He had to move on; he guessed this was his life now. He always knew it was a matter of time before his past caught up with him. He stared at the wound for a moment before he pulled out his knife and selected the pliers. It was going to be painful not to mention dangerous to pull the bullet from his shoulder – but what choice did he have. He had no idea if the bullet was 'plugging' the bleeding. But if he left the bullet in it could enter his blood stream or his lungs and that, will that would be the end of his life. He grabbed a hand towel and bit down on it. He took a breath and dug the pliers into his shoulder as he tried to locate the bullet. He felt the room spin again as pain threatened to overwhelm his body. He bit down on the towel as he clamped the pliers around the bullet and pulled. His vision became blurred and his world became to grow dark. He wanted to go towards it. But he couldn't - if he did he probably would never wake up again. If it was not from shock it would because the men chasing him had finally got up with him. _

_His head shot up as he heard heavy footfalls and raised voices. It was time to go; he had already spend too much time here already. He forced himself to stand and felt himself sway. He wondered how long he could go before his body finally gave out. He wondered if the team would look for him and if they would find his tortured, bullet ridden body. As the voices got closer he knew his primary escape as blocked his only way out was the window. He took one final at his apartment… at his life before he dragged his body out of the window and into the darkness._

_Fade out_

"Agent Malone"

Jack's head shot up and he span around to face the voice. He knew what Agent Simpson was about to tell him. He knew the blood was Danny's – he just didn't know where or what had happened to his agent. "What is it Agent Simpson?" he asked calmly as he could. But he didn't feel calm, he felt anything but calm. He wanted yell and scream. This was so insanely unfair, what had Danny ever done to deserve this?

"Agent Malone, the blood group is AB-. Now because of how rare this blood type is it seriously narrow down our search," Agent Simpson explained.

Jack sighed and held his head in his hands. "Don't worry there's no point, I know whose blood it."

"Agent Malone?"

"Danny is AB- and considering only 1 percent of the country is AB-, tell me what are the chances someone of that 1 percent bled in Danny's apartment!" Jack said almost yelling. He knew from the moment Danny was late something was wrong. But now it was confirmed - something had happened to Danny and it was his job to find out.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**Tuesday 7th December – 1230 hours**

**26 Federal Plaza, Manhattan **

"So shall we get a timeline together?" Jack said tiredly.

"Well we finished up early and he left with us," Viv started, as she sadly looked at Danny's empty desk – wondering if it would be filled by Danny again. "So the last time I saw him was 4 pm."

"Me too," Phil said speaking up, he shifted comfortably under Jack's glaze. "What about you Jack?"

"Last I was of him was him leaving the building walking towards the subway," Jack replied.

"Why didn't take his car, doesn't he have a car?" Viv asked.

"He mentioned something about not finding the keys this morning," Phil said absently-mindedly.

"Okay," Jack said taking a breath. "So from what we Danny has been missing for twenty-six and half hours. Viv I want you to get hold of the subway surveillance videos, Phil go back to Danny's apartment see if anyone saw anything."

"What are you going to do Jack?" Phil asked guardedly – terrified of what Danny's history might reveal.

"I'm going to go through the whole of Danny's past, see if there is anything that might help," Jack replied. "I highly doubt Danny's disappearance has anything to do with his time on this team, nor his time at the FBI."

Viv shook her head sadly. "Jack with the amount of blood there was, and there was a god damn bullet there Jack, what's happened to him!"

"I don't know Viv, I don't know," Jack said sadly as he looked down. "But I am going to find out and I am going to bring him home."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**Tuesday 7th December – 1400 hours**

**26 Federal Plaza, Manhattan**

**28 HOURS MISSING  
**

Jack raked his hands through his hair as he pored through Danny's file. It had started straight forward, with nothing he had expected. He knew Danny was an alcoholic, he knew he had narrowly avoided a DUI conviction a couple of years ago. Danny had never directly mentioned his rough childhood, but when they had worked a case last week he had noticed Danny's reactions. The missing person had been a child in foster care, it turned out thirteen year old boy had known nothing but abuse. His father had abused him until his dead when Jake was ten, after that he had been passed from group home to foster home. Jake had been recruited by a local gang, thinking it was the chance for a better live he had gone willing. But it had gone rapidly down hill from there. He was used as a drug mule and Danny had found his bullet ridden body, it turn out he had been killed by a local gang. He knew the case had hit a little to close to home. Jack wondered just how close to home it had hit. As he read through Danny's file he began to realise how to close to home it had hit.

Jack stared at the note in Danny's file. He had a feeling… in fact he knew Danny's disappearance had something to do with what happen before April 17th 1990. But what happened, he didn't know. He closed his eyes as he tried to prepare himself to dive head long into Danny's past.


	3. Chapter 3

**A huge thanks to anmodo for betaing this chapter, without her my fics wouldn't be possible. Thanks to everyone that has reviewed - I am glad you are enjoying it.**

**Chapter 3**

**Tuesday 7th December – 1500**

**Danny's apartment – South Bronx**

**29 HOURS MISSING**

Picking through Danny's apartment or what was left of it, Phil had come in contact with a bunch of junkies and drunks that roamed Danny's building. It was fitting that Danny was staying with 'his own', Phil thought. He had tried to talk to some of these people, but they had been too drunk or stoned to string a sentence together, let alone remember last night. The smell of the apartment block was getting to him – what was the point of being here? It was just a bunch of dead drunken and stoned ends. He wasn't achieving anything. Why couldn't Jack get it - Danny wasn't perfect and he probably just bailed on his job and his pathetic life. So it was pointless looking for him. Phil was lost in his negative thoughts until a knock on the door startled him.

"Who are you?" the voice demanded, "and what have you done to Danny's apartment. Danny works for the FBI, you know and I am going to phone them right now."

Phil looked up to see a short, bent, elderly lady standing in the door way. "I'm with the FBI," he said as he stood up and pulled out his ID. "My name is Special Agent Phillip Glanville."

"What's happened to Danny's apartment? Why does it look like this?"

"Ma'am, that's what I am here to find out. Now what's your name?" Phil asked in a gentle voice.

"Doris Stoneham. Now where is Danny?" she demanded.

"I work with Danny and he didn't turn up for work today. I was just wondering if you heard or saw anything," Phil asked gently.

"Oh god," Doris said as she collapsed into a chair. "No-no I wasn't here. Danny paid for me to go to one of those spa places upstate."

"So you weren't here last night?" Phil asked.

"No I told you I was in a spa and just got back. You don't think I did anything to Danny? I could never do anything to Danny," Doris exclaimed.

"I'm sorry. I just needed to know if you saw or heard anything. Maybe it was last week, did Danny argue with anyone? You never know what could help," Phil said with a smile. He didn't have the charming smile that Danny had, but he did have rugged good looks. He was about the same height as Danny but carried several pounds more of muscle. Before he had joined the FBI, he had been in Delta force.

"No, Danny wouldn't do anything like that. Danny is a good boy. He buys my groceries, fills my prescriptions, and does repairs around my apartment. He's a good boy, Agent Glanville. You have to find him," Doris pleaded.

"I will, I will," Phil reassured with a smile. He sighed as he watched Doris leave. In his opinion, _'Agent Taylor'_ was a good for nothing drunk with a dark, evil past. _'Taylor' _didn't deserve to be alive after what he had done, let alone be in the FBI or on Jack's team. _'Taylor' _was scum and the longer he stayed missing, the better for everyone. He didn't care that people thought Danny was an angel. He wasn't. He had obviously pulled the wool over those poor people's eyes. Phil sighed, realizing that Jack was his boss and he had made Danny their active case so he guessed he would have to work it.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**Tuesday 7th December – 1500 hours**

**26 Federal Plazas, Manhattan**

**29 HOURS MISSING**

Viv sat tiredly in front of the television monitor. It had taken hours to get hold of the video footage. Didn't they understand that a federal agent was injured and had gone missing? Closing her eyes, she ran a hand over her weary face.

Danny had only been on the team for three weeks and now he was missing. Something terrible had happened to him. She felt a tear escape as she thought of the blood stained bathroom and bullet they had found in it. She had to squeeze her eyes tightly shut to prevent herself from crying when they confirmed that all of the blood in the apartment had been Danny's. She barely knew Danny, but she guessed all of that was about to change. In the little time she had known Danny, she had found him to be an intensely private person. She wondered how difficult it would be to find out about Danny's private life.

The images that were unfolding on the screen pulled her out of her thoughts. She stared at the screen as she saw a nervous looking Danny appear. He was looking around wildly. Reaching out, she touched his image. She forced herself to continue to watch the events unfold.

Fade to

_Danny quickly walked down into the subway station. He looked over his shoulder; he knew they were following him. He just hoped that a train would arrive before they would. He almost screamed in frustration and fear, when he heard the announcement – all trains cancelled until further notice, due to a signal failure. Why was there signal failure today, of all days? He knew his past would catch up with him someday, he had been running from it his whole life. He hadn't been too naïve or stupid to believe it would never happen, it had caught up with Rafi – so why wouldn't they catch up with him? _

_He saw them coming down the stairs towards him. He looked for an escape, but found none. He had seen Rafi's body and it still haunted him. He knew these people had no morals, he knew they wouldn't stop because he was a FBI agent – in fact if anything it would increase their pleasure. He scanned the area, but he couldn't see them. He cursed. Why had he turned his back on them? He heard an explosion and fell to the ground as white hot pain tore through his shoulder. He felt blood run down his arm and chest, and the world started to become blurry. He tried to take deep calming breaths but his breathing was ragged. He just wanted it to end, but he knew he had to keep on going – if he didn't, she would die. Forcing himself to stand, he had to get out of there – but how? He forced his pain- ridden mind to concentrate. How was he going to get out of here – alive? He spied a discarded water bottle and threw it across the empty station. As the men shot at the bottle, he ran. He ran for his life._

Viv put a hand over her mouth and bit back tears. Under normal circumstances, this would shock her, but this… well she knew the victim. She stared at the now empty station and forced herself to react. She looked up, and called Jack over.

Jack hurried over as soon as he heard Viv's tense voice. "Viv, what have you found?" he asked in a voice full of concern and worry.

"I-I think, I think you should just watch," Viv managed to blurted out as she pointed to the monitor.

A few minutes later, Jack held his head in his hands. He knew Danny had been shot, but seeing him get shot when he was powerless do any thing made him so powerless. Knowing that Danny had been shot and now missing made him feel so unless. "O-Okay, okay," Jack managed to stammer. "U-mm okay. Right, we know Danny was in the subway station where he was shot, we know he made it out of there and we know he made to his apartment. What we don't know is what happened to him between the station and his apartment."

"We also don't know what happened to him after the apartment," Viv cut in. "We don't even know if he is alive!"

Jack laid a supportive hand on her shoulder. "Danny's alive. In the short time I have known him, I know he is a fighter and he is stubborn. True, we don't know what happened to him after he came back to the apartment. But if we can work out what happened to him between the subway station and his apartment – then maybe then just maybe we can will have a chance to find him alive," he said as he tried to reassure her.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**Tuesday 7th December – 1600 hours**

**26 Federal Plaza, Manhattan**

**30 HOURS MISSING**

Raking his hands through his hair, Jack had really forced himself not to run to the bathroom and empty the contacts of his stomach. Danny had been shot. He had seen it, and he had been powerless to stop it. He was going to find his agent and bring him home – alive. Whatever Danny had done or not done in his past, he didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve to be out there alone, hurt and scared. He stared at the note in Danny's file. Why had Danny changed his name in April 1990? And what was Danny's name before that date? He sighed and typed Danny's social into the computer. If Danny's name was a legal name change, it would tell him want Danny's original name was. Maybe it would be the key to finding Danny.

He frowned as Danny's photo appeared on the screen. He scanned the details – trying to find something he didn't know about Danny. He sharply inhaled as he saw Danny's original name – Alvarez. He did a brief search on Alvarez; he gasped and let his head fall into his hands as the search results came up. Alvarez, more importantly Danny's family, had been associated with a gang in Miami. He knew Danny would never be associated with a gang, even if he had a gun held to his head. What if someone close to him was threatened? He knew that Danny wouldn't stand idly by as someone he loved was threatened. But why didn't ask for help? Was it because he simply didn't trust them or was it something more sinister? He sighed and shuffled some of the paper that was on his desk, until he found Danny's bank details. He hated doing this, it felt like such in invasion of privacy – but what choice did he have? If he wanted to find Danny, he had to go through his personal details. But his eyes grew wide as scanned Danny's bank details. It explained why he lived in the shithole of all apartments. Danny withdrew $2000 a month. In most cases, he would consider drugs, but with Danny—he didn't think so. If he found out who was blackmailing Danny, he was sure that he would find Danny. He bit his lip; he just didn't know what state Danny would be in when he found him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Huge thanks to anmodo for betaing this fic, without her this fic would not be possible. Thanks to everyone that as reviewed, I am glad you are enjoying it.**

**Chapter 4**

**Tuesday 7th December – 1700 hours**

**26 Federal Plaza, Manhattan**

**31 HOURS MISSING**

'Blackmail' Jack thought, raking a weary hand through his dishevelled hair. What the hell had Danny done to be blackmailed? Why was Danny running? Didn't he know that he could simply ask him for help, and he would do everything he could to help his agent? But what if Danny had got himself into something from which there was no escape? Maybe he couldn't help him then. But maybe it was because Danny didn't trust them. After reading Danny's file, Jack understood why Danny wouldn't trust them or anyone, for that matter. The poor kid had been passed from foster home to group home. He had even spend time living on the streets. From what he had read, since the death of his parents, Danny had never spent more that a couple of months in one place. He was probably too scared to trust anyone. Jack sighed, he was going to find Danny and when he did, he would make sure that he knew that he could trust him. He was going to make sure that Danny knew that he wasn't like everyone else – he wasn't going to abandon him.

Sighing, Jack realized it was pointless just sitting at his desk sulking while his agent was out there alone, hurt and scared. He needed to tell the rest of the team about his discovery – maybe they would have an idea of why Danny was blackmailed. He quickly walked into the bullpen to only see Viv.

"Where's Phil?" Jack asked

"I guess he's still at Danny's apartment," Viv replied as she looked up.

"Shouldn't he be back yet?" Jack asked.

"I guess so, but maybe he found a lead," Viv replied. "Unlike me, I found nothing. It's like Danny disappeared into thin air when he left the apartment."

"We will find him, Viv," Jack reassured as he laid a supportive hand on her shoulder. "I think I may have found something."

Looking up, she tried to read Jack's body language. "What is it?" she asked nervously.

Jack pushed Danny's bank details in front of Viv and pointed to the highlighted part. "The same thing every month since this account was opened and it has been increasing," he explained gravely. "What do you think it is?"

Viv ran a hand over her face. "In most cases, I would consider drugs. But that doesn't seem like Danny. I think we would have noticed a $2000 a month drug habit," she said as she started to explain herself.

"That's what I was thinking," Jack said as he sat next to her. "I'm thinking blackmail."

"Blackmail?" Viv exclaimed. "What would someone have on Danny in order to blackmail?"

"Well, what's your take – if not blackmail?" Jack asked.

"Maybe he's paying someone's hospital bills," Viv suggested.

"Maybe," Jack said as he raked his hands through his hair once again.

"But you don't think so because you have some evidence to suggest that its blackmail?"

"Its not that I don't think that Danny wouldn't pay someone's hospital bills or use the money for some other altruistic reason. It's just. It's just," Jack stammered.

"What do you have on him, Jack?" Viv demanded.

"Danny's name, well Taylor wasn't Danny's original name," Jack blurted out as he held his head in his hands. This case was undoubtedly the hardest case he ever had to work. In the three short weeks he had known Danny, he had begun to bond with him, even if Danny hadn't reciprocated yet. He had begun to develop a strong paternal instinct with Danny.

"What!" Viv exclaimed. "What are you talking about?"

"On the 19th of April 1990, Danny legally changed his name from Alvarez to Taylor. Marco Alvarez was Danny's father," Jack said.

"What!" Viv exclaimed. "No. That can't be true. That bastard was a psychopath drug-dealing murderer. How could Danny be related to someone like him?"

"Well, he is or was," Jack sighed as leaned back on the chair. "Which opens a whole new can of worms as to why Danny is missing."

Viv sadly shook her head. "We have to bring him home, Jack. There is no way in hell that Danny would follow in his father's footsteps."

"I know, I know Viv. Now where the hell is Phil, he should be back by now," Jack sighed.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**Tuesday 7th December – 1700 hours**

**Car Park of 26 Federal Plaza, Manhattan**

**31 HOURS MISSING**

Leaning against his black SUV, Phil kicked the tires. Today was turning out to be a really shitty day. Not only did he have to work the scum that was _'Agent Taylor's' _case, the front of his SUV had somehow been damaged. He kicked the tires again in obvious frustration. It was all fucking _'Agent Taylor's' _fault and now he had to go through all the shit that was '_Agent Taylor's' _life. He sighed and clicked the clinks out his back and started to walk up to the office. He didn't want to work the current case, but he knew it would look suspicious if he resisted.

"So have we got anything new?" Phil asked as he walked into the bullpen.

"Yeah, what about you?" Jack asked as he looked up. He frowned slightly as Phil finally had made it back to the office – what had taken so long?

"Nothing much, apart from Danny is '_a good boy'_ – that was according the old lady who lives across the hallway from him. Didn't get anything from anyone else, just a bunch of junkies and drunks," Phil explained.

Viv glared at Phil. "I agree with her. By all accounts, he is a good boy," she said as she continued to glare at Phil. "How many people would dive into the Hudson after a child? Come on Phil, I would like to say I would but when it came to it, I don't know if I could. Especially with the water temperatures, the shock of jumping into it could kill you."

"Okay fine!" Phil exclaimed as he held his hands up in mock surrender. "So what have you found out?"

"That in April 1990 Danny had his name legally changed to Taylor," Jack started.

"What the hell was it before?" Phil asked as he pretended to be shocked and interested.

"Alvarez," Jack replied quickly as he continued to scan the files in front of him.

"Alvarez… Alvarez, where have I heard that name before," Phil said in mock confusion.

"Marco Alvarez was Danny's father," Jack explained.

"Marco Alvarez… wasn't he a huge gang, kingpin, cartel guy in Miami about ten-ish years ago?" Phil questioned with mock interest and confusion.

"That's him," Jack said as he looked up from the files.

"So you reckon it has something to do with Danny's disappearance?" Phil questioned nervously.

"Don't you?" Viv said

"Yeah, yeah of course I do. I mean what else could it be?" Phil replied nervously as he looked around the room – unable to look Jack or Viv in the eyes.

The phone rang – breaking the uncomfortable silence. Jack reached across and answered it. "Malone," he said a gruff voice. "Okay… yes… thank you, we will be right there." He sighed and racked his hands through his hair. "Danny's car has been found," he said as he grabbed his coat and started to head out. Viv and Phil quickly followed Jack out.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**Tuesday 7th December – 1800 hours**

**North-West Manhattan**

**32 HOURS MISSING**

After a hair-raising trip across town, they made in one piece to where Danny's car was. Jack jumped out, before he turned off the car. "I'm Special Agent Malone, who's in charge here?" he demanded as he strode towards the group, of now terrified cops. "Where's the car?"

One of the cops stepped forward. "I'm Sergeant Roberts, sir," he stammered nervously.

"Where is my agent's car?" Jack demanded as he stepped forward and glanced at the cops.

"Its-its over there," Sergeant Roberts stammered as he pointed to the bullet-ridden car that had crashed into a wall.

Jack felt as the air had been sucked out of his lungs. He grabbed onto the wall for support. "Oh Danny why didn't come to me for help, I would've helped you," he whispered. "Was there any sign of the occupant of this car?" he asked, the gruffness returning to his voice.

"N-No sir," Sergeant Roberts stammered. "I-I, w-we found the car like this – abandoned."

Jack glared at them, before he started to inspect the car. The front end was completely crumpled – half imbedded into the wall, while the back was riddled with bullet holes. He closed his eyes briefly before he took a breath and peered into the car – it was covered in blood. Sighing heavily, Jack wondered just how many more times they would be able have to send a sample of Danny's blood to the evidence room, before they found Danny's body.

Viv inspected the back of Danny's wrecked car. She wasn't a forensic agent, but she didn't have to notice that Danny's car had been rammed from behind. Judging by the height of the damage and paint transfer it was a black SUV. Didn't Phil have a black SUV, she thought as she glared at him? As she stared at the damage, she felt as though she could she what happened to Danny.

Fade to

_Cold sweat clung to his pain ridden; exhausted body and he drove frantically towards Manhattan. He didn't want to leave the city that had become the closest thing he had to home in a long time – but he didn't have a choice. He looked up at the rear view mirror and tensed. He forced himself to concentrate on the task in hand. He was being paranoid; the black SUV was more than likely totally unrelated to his hell. But as the SUV quickly closed the gap between them, it confirmed his fears – they had caught up with him. There was really no escape now – his life was over. She was going to die and it was his fault. Why hadn't he been more careful? If he hadn't got himself sober and joined the FBI, would they have found him? He shook his head, of course they would. He made the drop of $2000 in Central Park every month. Now because of his careless actions, the woman he cared for more than anyone else would die._

_The crunching of metal against metal pulled him out of his thoughts as he fought to control his car. But his Nissan was never going to be a match against the several tonnes of SUV. Pain shot through his shoulder as fought the steering wheel, as the SUV tried to run him off the road again. This was the end, his life was over – but maybe he could save hers. He looked at his cell phone. Her only chance lay there. He had screwed up, so Jack wouldn't help him, but Jack would help her. She hadn't done anything wrong. He grabbed the phone and started to try and find Jack's number. But as the SUV rammed him again, he knew he had made a mistake. He could no longer control the car. He desperately fought the steering wheel as his car careened towards the wall – but to no avail. There was a sickening crunching of metal, before his head slammed against the steering wheel. He felt blood trickle down his face as his world began to darken. This was the end he thought as his world became dark and he knew no more._

_Fade out._

"Agent Malone," Agent Simpson said as he stepped towards Jack holding a cell phone in his gloved hand. "We found this in Agent Taylor's car."

Jack stared at the cell phone and took it from Agent Simpson. He inhaled sharply as he saw number on the screen. The screen was cracked and smeared in blood, but it clearly said 'Jack' and his number below. He felt tears sting his eyes. Danny had tried to call for help, but it had been too late. If he had been more open opposed his usual gruff self – would Danny have trusted him more? Would Danny have phoned for help earlier? He hoped he would find out, but with each lead ending in a trail of Danny's blood, he knew this was becoming less and less likely. "T-The blood," he managed to stammer.

"I'm sorry Agent Malone but it's AB- but I will confirm if it's Agent Taylor's as soon as possible," Agent Simpson said gravely. He looked at Jack's and Viv's downcast expression before adding. "As far as I am concerned, the FBI only has one case today, you will find him Agent Malone."

Closing his eyes, Jack felt numb. Why was this happening to Danny, he thought? He looked up and mumbled a thank you, before he walked back to his car.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**Tuesday 7th December – 2000 hours**

**26 Federal Plaza, Manhattan**

**34 HOURS MISSING**

In the dim light Jack studied Danny's file again – hoping that he had missed something. Hoping that he would find the key to why his agent was missing. But he knew it had to do with when Danny was know as Danny Alvarez. He took off his glasses and rubbed his weary eyes. All the evidence said that Danny was dead. But all Jack wanted to do was yell, 'Why wasn't his body in the car wreck?' But he also knew Danny, and the evidence wasn't show that Danny was a fighter. There was no way that he would quit – Danny's history told him that.

A knock on the door pulled him out of his thoughts. Without looking up, he growled at the person. A young fresh-faced agent walked in nervously handing Jack a file. "Sir there is the ballistics report on the bullet found in Agent Taylor's apartment," he stammered.

"What the hell took so long?" Jack growled as he glared at the shaking agent.

"I-I don't know sir, I-I was just told to bring you the file," he stammered.

"Fine, you can go now," Jack growled as he dismissed the agent. He waited until he heard the door close, before he opened the report and started to study it. He frowned as he read it. His eyes shot toward the bullpen before he punched his desk. Standing up abruptly, he stormed into the bullpen. "Agent Glanville," he yelled, as he stormed up to Phil. He kicked Phil's chair out from under him and slammed him against a wall. "What the hell is the meaning of this?" he said as he waved the report in front of Phil's face.


	5. Chapter 5

**Huge thanks to anmodo for betaing this chapter, also thanks to ukeleleboy for the Spanish translations. Thanks to everyone that has reviewed so far, I am glad you are enjoying it.**

**Chapter 5**

**Tuesday 7th December – 2000 hours**

**26 Federal Plaza, Manhattan**

**32 HOURS MISSING**

"What?" Phil exclaimed as he nervously stared at Jack. "What the fuck are you talking about Jack?"

"This, Phil!" Jack yelled, as he continued to pin Phil against the wall. "This report gives you motive!"

"I have no idea what you are talking about, I don't even know what's in that file," Phil yelled back. "So why don't fucking let go of me and show me the report. Then I can tell if I know anything about it."

"Fine," Jack growled as he dropped Phil. He slammed the report down in front of him. "Where the hell is Danny?"

"What?" Phil exclaimed, as he stared at Jack in disbelief. "You think I had something to do with Danny's disappearance!"

"You tell me!" Jack growled as he stabbed the report that now was on Phil's desk.

Taking a deep breath, Phil straightened his suit. He sighed and picked up the report, quickly flicking through it. As he read it, he inwardly groaned because he knew now why Jack suspected him. The report made him look very bad. "I can explain," he started.

"You better," Jack growled as he continued to glare at Phil.

"When I first started with the FBI, 16 years ago, I was working gangs in Miami," Phil started nervously. He stared at his feet for a while before he tried to continue.

"My office now!" Jack growled, as he stormed towards his office.

Looking around nervously, Phil noticed that everyone in the office had stopped working and were now staring at him. He took another deep breath and quickly followed Jack into his office.

"Explain yourself!" Jack growled again, as he started to pace.

"As I was saying," Phil started nervously again. "When I started with the FBI, I was working gangs in Miami."

"I got that much," Jack yelled.

"Just let me get this out…dammit, Jack," Phil yelled back, but Jack stilled glared at him. "My partner and I, well our case was Marco Alvarez and his family."

Jack looked up with raised eyebrows. "Go on," he prompted with a cold, interested tone.

"This is pointless and a waste of time. I have nothing to do with Danny's disappearance," Phil exclaimed.

"I'll be the judge of that," Jack growled, as he started to pace the room again. He stopped and stood behind Phil. "So tell me about what happened to you and your partner when you were investigating the Alvarez's," Jack said as he breathed down Phil's back.

"We were investigating them and it was obvious from the beginning, that Marco Alvarez was heavily involved in everything," Phil started. He looked down at the floor and bit his lip before continuing. "Anyway we got intel that a huge deal was going in the Keys. What we didn't know was that we were walking into an ambush. Paul Newman, my partner, was shot and died in my arms. Marco Alvarez, Danny's father, killed him – he also shot me twice and threatened my family."

"And so in return, you shot Danny and ran him off the road?" Jack yelled as he slammed Phil against a wall again. He could feel his blood boil with rage – how could Phil take his anger out Danny? Because of an event that he had no control over? Danny would have only been a kid at the time. Thinking of a moment, Jack realized Danny would have only been nine years old. What the hell could he have done?

"What?" Phil exclaimed. "No way, Jack. I may not have liked him. I may totally disagree with your choice, but I would never hurt!"

"Where were you between the hours of 6 o'clock and 9 o'clock last night?" Jack asked, as he continued to stare coldly at Phil.

"What? I can't believe you are asking me this! After all of the years we have worked together!" Phil yelled back

"Where the hell were you?" Jack pressed.

"I was at the shooting range until 8, and then I went to Maxwell's with Jake Roberts and Andy Strauss," Phil yelled, as he shoved Jack back and straightened his suit again. "I was there until10, after that I went home to my wife. Is that okay with you!"

"That's fine with me, but I will be checking it out," Jack said as he went directly to his desk to make a couple of phone calls. After make the phone calls, he looked up and sighed. "Looks like you're in the clear."

"Good," Phil said quietly.

Jack collapsed in his chair and raked his hands through his hair. "I'm sorry, Phil," he said in a much softer tone. "I-It's just, it's just-"

"This case is really getting to you," Phil said softly as he finished Jack's sentence. "Look Jack I may not like Danny, but that's just because of history that I can't forget. I can see he's an intelligent kid with great potential and I would never hurt him. I may act coldly around him, but I swear to you Jack, I would never hurt him."

Jack looked up sadly. "I know. I realize that now. Danny has no one, Phil. You know better than anyone what kind of hell he comes from. I feel responsible for him…for finding him. He has no one Phil, no one. Since he was eleven, he has never spent more than a couple of months in one place. No one deserves the life he has had," he said in a near whisper.

"I know Jack, but even when his parents were alive he was always moving around. I know he was forced to pack drugs when he was a kid but its just, well u-mm I just can't get passed his father. When I see Danny, I see Marco Alvarez," Phil explained. He looked down again, suddenly feeling uncomfortable again. "U-mm Jack I will see if we have got the footage from the traffic cam."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**Tuesday 7th December – 2200 hours**

**26 Federal Plaza, Manhattan**

**34 HOURS MISSING**

Leaning back on his chair, Phil sipped a mug of steaming coffee. He had been staring at the video footage for what felt like hours. After his interrogation with Jack, he had begun to feel sorry for Danny. After all Danny had only been 9 years old at the time of the ambush – so what could have he done to prevent it? But as he explained to Jack every time he saw Danny, he saw Marco Alvarez. He sighed and ran a hand over his weary face; today had been a very long day. As old silver Nissan sped across the screen, he sat up and stared at the screen. A few seconds later a black SUV appeared looking like it was in hot pursuit of the Nissan. He picked up the photo of Danny's car and compared it to the car on the screen. It was defiantly Danny's car.

"Jack, Viv," Phil yelled. "I've got some thing."

Jack and Viv quickly hurried over. Viv gasped as she watched the grainy images. "Oh Danny," she exclaimed, as she covered her mouth.

Fade in

_Five masked men raced up to the car wreck._

"_Tú conoces el plan, nosotros le cogemos y le entregamos al jefe," the tallest of the men growled as he moved towards the car – his AK-47 drawn._

"_Ya entiendo Carlos," one of men said as he approached the car. He peered inside the car, to see their target slumped over the steering wheel._

"_Mejor será, porque si lo fastidias el jefe se enfadará y tú sabes lo que ocurre cuando él se enfada," Carlos growled as he wrenched open the door. He had to move quickly to prevent the unconscious man from falling. They had already damaged the package and Carlos knew the boss would be mad. He knew that the boss wanted to kill the package. Why he didn't know nor did he care. Just as long as he delivered the package alive enough for the boss to have fun torturing him._

"_Lo he cogido, vale," Jorge whined, as he dragged the limp form of their target out of his car and threw him into the van. He roughly tied the target's hands behind his back and kicked him in the shoulder as the van pulled away._

_Danny groaned as white hot pain tore through his shoulder. As he felt a swaying motion, he took a deep painful breath as he tried to stop himself throwing up. He heard voices and wanted to slip back to the blissful darkness. Whatever had happened was bad. They had caught up with him and knew the end would happen soon – he just hoped that when it happens it would be quick and painless, but he knew it wouldn't be. He knew they would want to torture him and draw it out for as long as possible. He also knew from previous experience that if he didn't obey their 'commands' it would be whole a lot worse. Slowly and reluctantly he opened his eyes._

"_Hola, Sr. Alvarez, hace tiempo que no nos vemos. Mi jefe estará encantado de verle.," Carlos growled and smiled at Danny sadistically._

"_W-What?" Danny stammered. "Who are you?" He cried out as his arm was twist in a direction that it wasn't supposed to go. He heard a sickening crack and his world began to dim. He heard voices yelling at him, he felt darkness surround him again and didn't fight it._

_Fade out_

Phil, Viv and Jack stared at the grainy image. They sat in silence for a while, unable to know what to do or say. It was a few minutes before anyone spoke.

"I'll get this over to the techs, maybe they can clean it up and we get the license plate on that van," Phil said as he quickly stood up and hurried towards the tech room.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**Wednesday 8th December – 0100 hours**

**26 Federal Plaza, Manhattan**

**37 HOURS MISSING**

Viv stood out on the balcony of the FBI building. The bitterly cold December whipped around her. She felt tears sting her eyes as she thought of her Danny; cold, alone, hurt and frightened.

"You all right?"

Swing around to see Jack, Viv produced a small smile. "I'm okay."

"No you're not," Jack replied, as he hugged his coat close to his body. "We will find him, Viv, I promise."

"He's out there and it's so cold. He's out there alone, cold, in pain and scared. What if we are too late?" Viv exclaimed.

Jack was just about to continue when Phil ran out towards. "I think I have a lead," he yelled as he waved a piece of paper above his head.

"What is it?" Jack asked urgently.

"I, we managed to track the van. We think its still at a warehouse in Queens," Phil said excitedly.

"What the hell are we doing here then," Jack growled as he hurried inside and ran towards the elevators.

"I was telling you," Phil said as he called after Jack and jogged to catch up with him.

After a hair-raising trip across town, which both Viv and Phil had their eyes closed, they eventually made it to the warehouse in Queens. But in Jack's opinion, it took to long. He knew his agent had a gunshot wound to the shoulder and the bullet had not been removed by professional medical personnel. He knew his agent had a head injury but he didn't know how bad it was. He didn't know if his agent was hurt in any other way. These factors combined with the freezing temperatures – Danny didn't have time on his side. He signalled to the team – checking if they were ready as they approached the building. He knew he should wait for back-up, but Danny didn't have the luxury of time.

They quickly filed into the warehouse, clearing it as they went. So far, it was eerily empty and quiet. Straining his ears, Jack was almost sure he heard something. He heard Viv and Phil yelling 'clear'. He knew there was only one room left. As he strained his ears again, he could've sworn he heard whimpering – had he found Danny? He slowly opened the door and scanned the small darkened room – looking for any threat and the source of the whimpering. At the far corner of the room he found the source of the whimpering – but it was not Danny, it was a terrified woman of about his age chained to the wall. He slowly approached, taking note of she terrified and battered appearance. He couldn't help but think that there was something familiar about this lady.

"Por favor, no me haga daño; Haré todo lo que quiera. Pero no me haga daño," the terrified woman said as she back up against the wall.

Jack silently cursed, Danny was the only Spanish speaker on his team, and he wasn't here. He produced a warm smile and pulled out his ID. "Yo soy del FBI, cómo te llamas?" he said. Jack smiled again, silently cursing his poor attempt of Spanish.

"D-Danielle A-Alvarez," the terrified woman stammered.

Translations – huge thanks to ukeleleboy for the translations.

_Tú conoces el plan, nosotros le cogemos y le entregamos al jefe ------ You know the plan, we get him and deliver him to the boss._

_  
Ya entiend ------ I understand_

_Mejor será, porque si lo fastidias el jefe se enfadará y tú sabes lo que ocurre cuando él se enfada ------ You better, because if you screw up the boss will be mad you know what happens when he gets mad. _

_Lo he cogido, val ------ I get it okay_

Hola, Sr. Alvarez, hace tiempo que no nos vemos. Mi jefe estará encantado de verle ------ Hello Mr. Alvarez, we haven't seen each other in a while. My boss is going to be very pleased to meet you. 

_  
Por favor, no me haga daño; Haré todo lo que quiera. Pero no me haga daño ------ Please don't hurt me; I will do anything you want. Just don't hurt me._

_Yo soy del FBI, cómo te llamas? ------ I'm with the FBI, what's your name? _


	6. Chapter 6

**Huge thanks to anmodo as always for betaing this chapter. Also thanks to everyone that has reviewed it really helps.**

**A/N: Apologises for the delay, my computer completely died on me and have only just managed to get a new one.**

**Chapter 6**

**Wednesday 8th December – 0100 hours**

**26 Federal Plaza, Manhattan**

**37 HOURS MISSING**

Pausing, Jack took a deep breath as he tried to compose himself. 'Danielle Alvarez' he thought, no it couldn't be – Danny's mother was dead. But the age was right and the eyes were Danny's eyes. And the scared expression that he had seen on the surveillance footage over the day was the same expression that Danielle had worn. He sighed as he pushed the thoughts from his mind. He bent down and produced a small comforting smile. "No voy a hacerte daño. Mi nombre es Jack. Trabajo para el FBI y puedo ayudarte," he said.

Danielle Alvarez looked at the FBI man up and down. Marco, her husband, had told her that the FBI couldn't be trusted. But this was the same man that had murdered her baby. Her precious baby, Danny. She knew Marco was doing some drug dealing, and he would kill her if she talked to the FBI. But what was the point of living anyway? Her life was hell, and she had lost her boys. She had lost her precious Danny-boy. Everyday, she missed seeing his big brown eyes. She missed hearing him laugh and seeing him smile when they went down to the beach together. Her precious baby had been so sweet and intelligent. Maybe if that bastard hadn't got into the car that day, then maybe Danny could've been in the FBI – she would've been so proud. Smiling to herself, she thought if she talked to the FBI, then maybe that bastard would finally pay for what he did to her baby. She smiled and took the hand that was offered.

Jack returned her smile and carefully helped the woman, who he believed was Danny's mother, to her feet. "U-mm, e-rr," he stuttered as he silently cursed again about his limited Spanish.

"I speak English," Danielle said with a smile. When Danny was alive, she had dreamed about escaping Marco's clutches with Danny. She had dreamed about building a new life for them, but she knew that she would never be able to escape Marco. He would always hunt them down. But on the off chance, they could escape; she had secretly taught Danny, Rafi and herself English.

"We're going to take you to the hospital to have you checked out. Is that okay?" Jack asked as he carefully undid the handcuffs that chained her to the wall.

"Thank you," Danielle said as she stood. But as soon as she did she felt her world spin violently. She felt a set of gentle hands easing her back down. "Thanks," she mumbled again as a warm coat was draped over she shoulders.

"Its okay," Jack said gently as he sat down beside her. "I've radioed for an ambulance."

"I'm so sorry for the inconvenience," Danielle mumbled as she looked down – feeling ashamed that she was so weak.

"It's not your fault," Jack reassured. Closing his eyes, a thought hit him. If this woman was Danny's mother, did that mean that Marco Alvarez was alive as well? He shuttered at the mere thought. If that bastard so much as laid a finger on Danny, he would inflict a lot of pain on him for every pain that bastard had caused Danny – past and present.

Danielle pulled a well loved photograph from her pocket. It had been taken fourteen years ago – mere days before the accident that claimed her baby's life.

_Fade to Flashback_

_Marco was in Mexico for some deal and she didn't know where Rafi was. She loved Rafi, he had been a good kid but Marco had poisoned his mind. Or maybe he had threatened him – she suspected the latter. Because of her weakness, she couldn't help Rafi but she could protect Danny. She was going to everything she could to give the Danny the life he deserved. But right now that didn't seem to matter; Marco was away doing some deal in Mexico. Danny could run around the tiny apartment, as much as he liked without the fear. _

"_Can we go to the beach? Please mom," Danny pleaded excitedly as he jumped up and down._

_Danielle smiled as she bent down and hugged her youngest son. "Of course, Danny. Why don't you go and pack some stuff for the beach," she said. She smiled broadly as she watched Danny run off excitedly. A few hours later, after catching several buses and calming an over excited Danny, they finally arrived at the beach. She kicked off her shoes and watched Danny run around the beach. This was what it was supposed to be like._

"_Mommy, mommy," Danny yelled with a broad smile as he bounced up and down._

_Danielle smiled and pulled herself to her feet. Today was their day of freedom and she was going to make sure it was the best day possible for her Danny. Little did she know that in less than 24 hours, her baby would be dead?_

_Fade out._

A couple of tears escaped as Danielle thought about that day. Danny had been so happy, but it had been ruined the very next day when that bastard had got in into the car drunk. That was the day her life had changed forever. She knew she should have gotten out of the marriage, but it had been too late and her baby had paid the price.

Jack looked at Danielle sadly, he was sure she was Danny's mother but he couldn't confirm it. He nodded at the paramedics as they entered the room. After a few words with Danielle, he got up and walked over and talked to the team. "Viv, go with Danielle. Phil, you're with me."

"Who is she?" Viv asked in a hushed tone.

"I don't know," Jack lied, not ready to tell the team his suspicions. "Maybe you can find out."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**Wednesday 8th December – 0400 hours**

**Unknown location**

**40 HOURS MISSING**

He didn't know how long he had been travelling, he had been in and out of it for what felt like hours – but he couldn't be sure. All he knew was it was dark and all he could feel was pain. He tried to get his eyes to adjust to the dark conditions, but it was so dark. There was barely any light in the room. But from the small slivers of light that clung to the damp walls, he could tell the room was tiny. It was as though he had been thrown into some form of cell. He closed his eyes as tears threatened to escape. He had spent his life running from this and he knew it would finally catch up with him – but why now? Why when he had finally pieced together his life had this happened? He had spent his life either; scared, running or drunk. Now he had a job that was happy in and apartment that he had spent more than two months in – but did he have any of that anymore? He bit back tears that threatened, Jack would kick him off the team and because he couldn't make the payments, Marco would kill his mother. The bang at the door and piercing white light pulled him out of his thoughts. Nausea hit him as his eyes tried to adjust to the light. He looked up and recognized his captor – his nightmare had begun.

"Well Danny, or do you prefer 'Agent Taylor', I haven't seen you in a while," Marco Alvarez sneered.

"What do you want?" Danny asked as bravely as he could as he eyeballed his father.

"You were short on your last payment," Marco growled as he kicked Danny in the chest.

"What?" Danny gasped. "No, I was fucking not!"

"Don't talk back to me, boy!" Marco yelled as he grabbed Danny by the shoulders and threw him against the wall. "You were," he yelled as started to kick Danny in the chest again. "$50 short."

"No I wasn't, Papi. I counted – as I always do," Danny stammered as he felt the childhood fear return.

"You little shit, are you telling me I am lying?" Marco yelled as he slammed a fist into Danny's jaw.

"But Papi, I swear it was the right amount," Danny gasped as blood trickled down his face.

"Are you telling me that I can't count, boy?" Marco yelled as he pulled a knife from the sheath attached to his leg. The blade glinted in the dull light. He laughed as he watched his youngest son back against the wall, as though he was trying to escape – but there was no escape. He would never escape him, he thought evilly.

Danny curled up into a protective ball and closed his eyes. He knew whatever he said was pointless. His father would never believe or care what he said – he just wanted to inflict pain. As tears of pain streamed down his face, he wished that he had told Jack. He even wished that he had told Phil. Anything was better than this. Why was this happening to him? He had tried so hard to rebuild his life and move on? He thought that if he got a degree and a decent job, his life would be different – but he couldn't be more wrong. As his father continued to take his anger out on him, darkness started to surround him and he welcomed it. Before it completely surrounded him, he thought of the team – were they looking for him? He hoped they were. He knew he would be dead soon, but just the thought that someone was looking for him gave him a small glimmer of hope in the inky darkness that surrounded him.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**Wednesday 8th December – 0700 hours**

**26 Federal Plaza, Manhattan**

**43 HOURS MISSING**

Jack raked his hands through his hair. The case had been dead end after dead end and now this. A DNA test had revealed that Danielle's DNA was a 50 percent match to Danny – in other words she had to be a close family member. He tried and failed to smile at the irony of it – he had found Danny's mother but he failed to find Danny. Viv had taken Danielle to the hospital, where she had been checked out. Although she was fine, they wanted to keep her for observation. Jack clutched the test results. A part from the tech that ran the results, he was the only one that knew about the connection between Danielle and Danny. He sighed. He was going to have to tell someone – after all it could be vital to the case. Closing his eyes briefly, he raked his hands through his hair again.

"Jack I think there is something you should see," Phil said as he burst into Jack's office.

Jack looked up – startled at Phil's sudden entrance. He clutched the paper with the test results tightly in his hand. He hadn't told Danielle about her son. Firstly and most importantly, he didn't know Danny's decision and secondly if the case ended in the worst possible way did Danielle deserve to lose her son twice? He found himself standing and following Phil towards his desk.

"Okay. On a hunch, I started reviewing surveillance around Central Park," Phil started. He looked at Jack's dazed expression, he knew this case was hard on Jack and the rest of the team – himself included. He took a breath as he tried to explain. "Right. You know Danny was withdrawing $2000 a month. Well there were a bunch of withdrawals from banks near Central Park. Basically it didn't make sense, Danny lives in the Bronx and there are hundreds of ATMs closer to the office than the banks Danny was withdrawing from and the withdrawals were always for large sums of money."

Jack raised an eyebrow, "Go on."

"Well I thought that Central Park would be a good place to make a drop. So I started reviewing the surveillance and I got lucky," Phil said as he played the video clip. It showed two men, who looked so like goons that if the situation wasn't so serious it would be comical.

Jack watched with a combination of interest and fear as Danny walked into shot. It was obvious that despite his confident façade, he was scared. A few minutes had passed after Danny had dropped the package behind a tree; the two goons appeared on the screen. After they took the package, Jack sighed. "We need to find out who the hell they are."

"Already done it," Phil said as he handed Jack two files. "Meet Jorge Garcia and Enrique Gomez, both former associates of Marco Alvarez."

"He might not be so 'former'," Jack said slowly as he prepared himself to reveal his latest piece of information.

"What!" Phil asked

"Here is a DNA sample from Danielle – the woman we found in the warehouse," Jack said, as he handed the file to Phil. He had taken the decision not give the team Danielle's surname until he had confirmation, he didn't want the team to jump to conclusions.

Phil frowned at the piece of paper. "Who was the reference?" he managed to ask with interest.

"Danny," Jack replied.

"Danny?" Phil repeated as he stared at the paper again. "So this Danielle woman is Danny's mother?"

"It looks that way."

"And it looks as though Danny was probably being blackmailed by his father or at least something to do with his father," Phil suggested as he handed the paper back to Jack.

Jack sat and held his head in his hands. "Which means if Danny was being blackmailed by his father, why did he lie to us!

"I don't know, maybe because his father is/was Marco Alvarez," Phil said tiredly.

"Yes, but that sill doesn't explain why Marco Alvarez's FBI files state he's dead," Jack interjected.

"I think it has something to do with the blackmail," Phil suggested.

"I should've noticed something," Jack exclaimed as he held his head in his hands.

"Jack it's not your fault, Danny was good at hiding it."

"Was! What to you mean 'was'!"

"'_Was'_ because once we get him back he's not going to have to hide it anymore," Phil explained calmly.

"Oh, I'm sorry Phil," Jack said solemnly

"Don't worry about it," Phil said with a shrug. "This case is getting to all of us."

"Yeah you're right," Jack emitted sadly. "So these men what do they have records for?"

"Drug procession, drug trafficking, kidnap and…" Phil trailed off and looked down.

"And what!" Jack exclaimed

"Torture," Phil said quietly.

"Jesus," Jack exclaimed. "We have to get him back."

"I know Jack I know."

Jack frowned, "What's with the sudden change in attitude?" he asked, suspicion laced into his voice.

"Nothing Jack. I admit I may have been wrong about Danny," Phil replied in a soft voice.

"Oh come on Phil, one minute you were reluctant to work on the investigation and yelling about Danny's past and now… well now you are singing his praises and busting your gut to find him," Jack said with the same suspicion laced into his voice as he eyeballed Phil.

Phil sighed, "Look Jack, I was, I found some information that suggests I was really wrong about Danny," he explained as he stared down as his desk.

"What?" Jack asked slowly with added interest.

"I found, when I was searching for information… when Danny was Danny Alvarez. I well I found a medical report that was dated the same day as my partner was murdered. He had the crap beaten out of him that day. I have no idea if the two events are related but I have to find out," Phil explained in a weary voice.

"Oh," Jack said quietly

"Jack!"

Spinning around slowly, Jack came face to face with Paula van Doran. "Agent van Doran what can I do for you?" he said with a smile.

"I hear Agent Taylor is considered to be missing."

"Yes he is," Phil replied shortly.

"Is it possible that he just ran off or he took some personal time," Van Doran suggested coldly.

"Try checking the evidence room where you will find several samples of Danny's blood or video footage of him getting shot, or him being kidnapped or maybe his bullet ridden car!" Phil yelled as he eyeballed her.

"Phil," Jack growled between clenched teeth.

"Agent Glanville, I think I should take you off the case and hand it over to an independent body, like the NYPD," Van Doran said in a cold and official voice as she turned on her heel and headed towards her office.

"That's great Paula, but I'm going to continue to work the case and I don't care what you say," Phil yelled at her retreating figure.

Van Doran spun around and eyeballed Phil. "If you do that, I will have your badge," she growled.

"I can't believe you!" Phil yelled. "One of our own has been shot and kidnapped, and is now in the hands of known torturers – and you are kicking us off the case. You know we are the best chance Danny has of getting out of this alive."

"Fine! You have 12 hours," Van Doran growled as she stormed towards the elevators.


	7. Chapter 7

**Huge thanks as always to anmodo for betaing this chapter. Also thanks to everyone that has reviewed.**

**Chapter 7**

**Wednesday 8th December – 0730 hours**

**26 Federal Plaza, Manhattan**

**43.5 HOURS MISSING**

"Phil what the hell do you think you are doing?" Jack exclaimed as soon as Van Doran was out of earshot.

"What!" Phil exclaimed as he looked at Jack with a confused expression. "I thought you wanted to find Danny more than any of us! And now you are just going to fold to her demands! Jack, when have you ever folded to brass, especially when one of our own has been shot and kidnapped?"

Jack stared vacantly at the floor. Phil was right, he never listened to brass. He usually told them in no uncertain term where to shove it. Now when Danny needed him most, he just caved like some green, terrified rookie. But even a rookie would have given more of a fight than he did. He closed his eyes and raked his hands through his dishevelled hair. "He's out there hurt and scared with that bastard of a father, and I just gave up on him. I just gave up on him, like every other person has done. He's already been through enough in his life, he doesn't need this, he certainly doesn't people that are supposed to look out for him, people whose job is to find people, to give up on him," Jack said in a small lost voice.

Phil looked at Jack with concern. He was beginning to worry about Jack's mental state; he had never seen Jack look so defeated. Jack had hit it off with Danny from the start and he had seen why – Danny reminded Jack of what he was like when he was that age. Phil sighed, Danny reminded him of what he was like – young, hot-headed with a disregard for authority unless they had earned his respect. Phil thought it made perfect sense. Why respect someone and bow down to them when they treat you like shit?

"That's why we are not going to give up on him," Phil said with a small smile, trying to get Jack back on track.

Jack took a moment to process the information. "Right, if we don't find Danny within those 12 hours, our cell phones will mysterious break while we are out in the field. Modern technology can be so unreliable," he said with a shy smile.

Phil raised an eyebrow and smiled – the Jack he knew had returned. "Of course, especially with government issued technology," he added.

His focus returning, he started to address the situation at hand. "Okay, Danielle is going to be need protection," Jack said as his tone turned serious.

"Got it. Shall we keep Viv over there?" Phil asked as he picked up his phone.

"No. Wait. Yes, for the time being. But we'll need her here when the deadline passes," Jack said thoughtfully.

"Why?" Phil asked, frowning.

"You and I aren't the most diplomatic people in the world, and Viv is great at dealing with the brass. She will stall them for a while and buy us some more time," Jack explained.

"Got it. Okay, I'm going to run the goon's credit cards to try and find out where the hell they are or have been. I think when we find these scumbags, we will find Danny," Phil said as he booted up his computer. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to head over to the hospital to tell Viv about the Danielle/Danny connection," Jack said as he grabbed his coat.

"Are you going to tell Danielle about Danny?" Phil asked as he looked up from his computer.

"No. Danny is my first priority right now; he is my primary concern so I will wait for his answer. Second, what happens if we are too late? Does Danielle deserve to lose her son all over again?" Jack explained.

Phil nodded. "'Third, I am sure Danielle is genuine and I am sure she is as much as a victim as Danny, but until we know for sure…" he trailed off. He took a breath. "But if that is the case, she could lead us to Danny."

Jack nodded. "Start running a background check on Danielle," he instructed.

"How do I run a background check on some who is dead?" Phil asked.

Jack sighed and rubbed his weary face. This case was getting harder and harder. He was beginning to wonder if they would ever find Danny. But he had to. His agent was in the hands of some psycho torturers not to mention the bastard that was his father. "U-mm okay," he managed to stammer. "Okay, I will interview Danielle. I'm not going to mention Danny, but I will see if she can shed some light on the situation."

"We will get him back," Phil reassured with a small smile.

"This office hasn't lost an agent in the line of duty in years, and it's not going to happen on my watch – it's not going to be one of my people," Jack said tensely. He clenched his jaw and headed towards the elevators without another word.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**Wednesday 8th December – 0830 hours**

**Mount Sinai Hospital, Manhattan **

**44.5 HOURS MISSING**

Jack walked briskly but tiredly through the endless hospital corridors. Danny had been missing for 44 and half hours and he knew time was rapidly running out. Even if he was uninjured, it would be running out. But he had been shot and had a possible head injury – which he didn't know how serious it was. But all head injuries were serious, coupled with his other injuries, Danny needed medical help and fast, if he didn't – Jack didn't even want to think about that. Danny was alive, and he was going to find Danny alive. He was going to make it up to the kid. He was going to make sure Danny felt wanted, felt like he belonged with his team. Taking a breath, he leaned against the cool glass window that he found himself facing. Part of him wanted to tell Danielle that her son that she had loved with all of her heart was alive and a damn fine FBI agent. But the dark side of his mind kept overriding him – Danny was dead and it was all his fault. If had just looked out for Danny more. If he had just taken a few minutes to get to know Danny. If he had just taken a few minutes to ask Danny what was bothering him. If he had…. If he had. Jack leaned against the wall and slid down it, letting his head fall into his hands. This was all his fault. Danny was missing because of him. All the kid had wanted his whole life was to be loved, to be respected… to feel safe. And he had blown it on all three accounts. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he tried to regain his composure. He had a job to do and that job was finding Danny. He wasn't helping Danny by sitting here, wallowing his own self pity.

He knocked on the door. Once he heard a welcoming reply, he slowly entered with a small smile. "Mrs. Alvarez. How are you feeling?" he asked gently.

"Please call me, Danielle. I..." She stopped and smiled. "Just call me Danielle; Mrs. Alvarez is far too formal."

Viv looked at Jack, at his haggard and almost defeated expression. She could see how much this case was affecting him, how much it was eating away at him. She just didn't know how much more he could take. If they found Danny dead – she feared for Jack. "I'll go and get a coffee, do you want one?" she asked.

"U-mm, no, no thanks," Jack managed to stammered as he walked into the room – trying to mentally prepare himself for the latest round of questions.

"Okay then," Viv said with a small smile as she left the room.

"U-mm, Danielle, is it okay if I ask you a few questions?" Jack asked, as he sat down.

"Of course, Agent Malone," Danielle replied with a smile, although she felt slightly nervous.

"Please call me Jack," he said with a smile.

"Okay. What do you want to ask me, Jack?"

"If your husband took someone hostage in New York, where would he take him?" Jack asked.

Danielle stared in a horror at Jack. It wasn't as if she didn't believe that Marco would take someone hostage, it was just she was surprised that it had warranted the FBI's attention. "There is a warehouse in Poughkeepsie, it's abandoned, has been for many years. I know he deals out of there when we are in the area, but have no idea if that's where he would deal with a hostage – I'm sorry," she said as she looked down.

"Thanks. That's great. Can you think of any other places he would take someone," Jack asked desperately.

"No, I'm sorry," Danielle replied. She looked at the man's defeated and downcast expression before adding. "Who did he take hostage?"

Jack almost said Danny, before he stopped himself. He swallowed and took a breath before he continued. "He took an FBI agent; he took one of my agents."

"I'm sorry," Danielle said. "I really am. I really can't think of any where else Marco would take them. U-mm unless, well, I know one of his 'clients' owns a couple of warehouses in the Poughkeepsie area."

"Do you have the addresses of these places?" Jack asked quickly as he automatically pulled the notepad from his jacket.

"Yes," Danielle replied as she started to give Jack the addresses that she knew of.

Jack smiled, before he bid his thanks and left. As he walked down the corridors, he could feel fatigue catching up with him. But he couldn't sleep yet, he wouldn't sleep until he had found Danny. When he walked out of the hospital towards his car, he pulled out his cell phone and quickly phoned Phil – relaying all of the details that he found out to him. He slowly eased his tired, aching body into his car and rested his head against the steering wheel. Why was this happening to his team – why? Why was this happening to Danny? What had he done to deserve this? Jack thought as he unconsciously began to drift off.

_He slowly moved through the freezing cold, damp warehouse with his gun drawn. The place was silent a part from the dripping water down the walls and his own nervous haggard breaths. He had searched warehouse after warehouse, but to no avail. Maybe Danielle had played them? But he knew this wasn't the case. He knew he was the only one to blame. Danny was missing and had now probably been tortured to death and it was all his fault. The kid had finally begun to trust him, and he had failed him. He shivered as the icy air bit into him, he didn't know if it was because of the snow storm that was raging outside, or because of the fear and guilt that he was rightfully carrying. _

_His senses pricked as he heard a raised voice, he increased his pace but continued to sweep the area cautiously. He felt his heart pounding as he heard two gunshots followed two laughs, he ran forwards – not caring about his personal safety anymore. Two figures emerged from the room and aimed their guns at him, but before they had a chance to fire at him, he emptied round after round in to them. He knew they were dead, he didn't bother to check, but out of habit he kicked the guns away. He shuddered as he heard the metal objects that probably ended his agent's live clatter on the concrete floor. He found himself at the door frame. He was too late. He was too late, too God damn late. He felt tears streaming down his face and bent down next to his agent's bloodied and battered body. It was all his fault. It was all his fault._

_As he laid a hand on Danny's cold, lifeless cheek, he cursed. Danny was alive; he could see the shallow rise and fall of his chest. "It's okay Danny, its okay," he found himself saying._

_Danny's eyes flutter open. He looked acquiescingly at Jack. "You killed me, Jack," he acquiesced. "You shot me!"_

"_No, no I didn't Danny, I swear I didn't. It was them," Jack exclaimed as he turned to point to the two men he shot, only to be met with an empty space. He looked down at his hand to find a smoking gun. _

"_I trusted you, Jack, and you killed me," Danny said with his final breath. His eyes rolled back and his lolled to one side._

"_I'm so sorry, Danny, I'm so sorry," Jack cried as he cradled Danny body in his arms. Suddenly and without warning he was surrounded by men, who were laughing. They dragged Danny from his arms, despite his protests. He screamed at them as they unceremoniously dumped Danny in a body bag. Danny deserved better that this he wanted to yell, but no words can from his mouth. He tried to pull them away from Danny, but they were too many of them. They threw Danny's body as if it was garbage into a coroner's van that was ablaze; he sank to his knees and sobbed. He was worthless, it was all his fault. Danny was dead because of him, he had killed him._

Jack woke with a start, cold sweat drenched his body. He tried to take a shaky breath and take into his surroundings. He stifled back a cry as he realized he was at the hospital, it was true – Danny was dead and it was all his fault. The annoying shrill of his cell phone pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Malone," he whispered in a hopeless, lost voice.

"Jack?" Phil asked – completely confused and worried by the lost sound in Jack's voice.

"Phil? Where are you? What are you doing?" Jack mumbled as he tried to pull himself together.

"I'm in Poughkeepsie. I am about to search the warehouses," Phil said, his concern and fear for his friend and boss rising by the second. "Just like you told me to do."

"Have you found Danny?"

"No, not yet. Jack, what's up? Are you okay?" Phil asked concern evident in his voice.

"Did I find Danny, did I find him dead?" Jack asked urgently.

"No. Where are you?" Phil asked as he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. This was what he was worried about.

"I-I don't know," Jack stammered.

"What can you see?" Phil asked gently as though he was talking to a victim in one his cases.

"U-mm, I-I I-I'm," Jack stammered as he looked around. He saw the sign and silently cursed. "I am outside Mount Sinai Hospital in New York."

"Okay. When you phoned me about forty minutes ago, you had just come out from questioning Danielle. You are exhausted, my guess is that you drifted off," Phil suggested.

"I dreamed that Danny was dead, Phil. But what happens if it is not a dream, what happens if Danny is dead," Jack exclaimed.

"He's not dead," Phil reassured. "But he needs you, he needs you to get your ass up here and help me search for him."

"Right. I'm sorry, Phil," Jack said in a small voice.

"There's no need for that. Okay? You are only human and this case is affecting us all emotionally, especially you," Phil said as he ran a weary hand over his face. He didn't know if Jack was in the right state to search for Danny, but what he did know was that he needed him to help him find Danny. He would deal with the emotional fallout later.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**Wednesday 8th December – 1200 hours**

**An abandoned warehouse, Poughkeepsie.**

**48 HOURS MISSING**

Phil shivered as the cold damp walls closed in on him. They had followed lead after lead, but to no avail. They were running out of leads and Danny was running out of time. He had already been missing for 48 hours. He had been shot 48 hours ago and he had received no medical attention. Now he was he in the hands of some psycho torturers. Phil closed his eyes at the very thought. If they were too late, he had no idea what Jack would do; he was already at the breaking point now. So Danny's death would send him over the edge. Now that he thought about it, he didn't know what Danny's death would do to him as well. He shook his head in an attempt to clear his head. He didn't need to be distracted, he needed to be alert if he was going to find Danny and get the both of them out alive. He drew his gun and started to move cautiously through the warehouse.

The place was silent a part of from the dripping water running down the damp walls and his footfalls, but he wasn't taking any risks. He knew he should've waited for back up, but the pull to this warehouse was too strong. It was as though he had no control over his body as he found himself searching the warehouse.

He thought he heard a hiss of pain ahead and cautiously increased his pace. He rounded the corner and found himself in a small, dark room. It was so cold that he could see his breath. Spinning around, he heard the same hiss of pain. In the corner of the small room, he saw an outline of a hunched figure that appeared to be chained to a pipe. He started to walk warily towards the figure and bent down.

"Danny," he said quietly when he thought he recognised the figure. The figure looked up, one big eye stared at him wild with fear. "Its okay Danny, it's me, Phil. We've been looking for you." When Danny didn't respond, Phil laid a gentle hand on Danny's good shoulder. He noted the swollen and bruised wrist. He felt his heart break as he looked at the battered and bloodied face, the eye that was swollen shut, the torn and bloody clothes, at the icy touch to Danny's skin. "Its okay Danny, I've got you kid. How about I get you out of here?"

"I-I'm s-so s-so-r-ry," Danny slurred and coughed slightly causing more blood to escape. His head lolled forward so it was resting on Phil's arm.

"Danny?" Phil asked nervously but there was no response. "Danny?" he yelled out of fear, but there was still no response.


	8. Chapter 8

**A huge, huge thanks to anmodo as always for betaing my fics, without her, they would not be possible. Also thanks to everyone that has taken the time to review, I am glad you like it.**

**Chapter 8**

**Wednesday 8th December – 1230 hours**

**An abandoned warehouse, Poughkeepsie**

**FOUND**

"Danny, Danny. Come on, kid. Don't do this to me," Phil pleaded desperately as he gently tapped Danny's cheek. "I'll let you lean on my arm just as long as you open your eyes for me."

Danny groaned as he felt someone tapping his face. He tried to work out where he was, or how he got here but found no answers, only questions. He tried to focus on the voice, it sounded gentle and concerned – unlike the voices he had recently been accustomed to hearing.

Phil silently watched Danny for a while, before he tried for a response again. "Danny, it's okay. I've got you. You and I are both going to get out of this place – understand? But I just need you to open your eyes for me," he pleaded gently.

Slowly opening his eyes, Danny was met with a very blurry image of what looked like the teammate who hated him. Why was he being so nice, Danny silently thought. He closed his eyes again; he didn't have any other choice but to trust Phil. It was so fucked up that Phil, the guy that hated him, was the only way he was going to survive.

"No, Danny, you have to keep your eyes open for me," Phil pleaded. He gently squeezed Danny's shoulder again. "Come on kid, you have to stay awake."

Slowly and reluctantly, he opened his eyes again, but all he wanted to do was sleep. All he wanted to do was escape this hell. He knew if he fell asleep again, he may never wake up and this was strangely comforting. But it didn't change the fact that Phil, was here and in danger – he had to warn him.

"G-Go just go, t-t-oo d-dangerous," he managed to cough out. He knew death was close, he could feel her wrap her icy hands around him.

"I am not leaving without you. It will just make things easier and safer if you can help me out," Phil hissed. But as soon as the words came out of his mouth he regretted the tone of them. "Kiddo, I've, we've been looking for you for two days and now that I've found you, there is no way in hell I am going to leave you here," he said in a much gentler tone.

Danny stared at Phil through slits. "Y-You've b-be-en l-looking for m-me?" he stammered in disbelief.

"After you didn't show for show for work, Jack got worried and checked your apartment out. Jesus Danny. Why didn't you come to us for help?" Phil exclaimed as he looked worryingly at the younger agent's deteriorating condition.

""I-I'm s-sorry, I-I'm s-so s-sorry," Danny stammered as he felt his emotions begin to get the better of him.

"Its all right, Danny, okay? Everything is going to be all right," Phil reassured as he continued to squeeze Danny's shoulder. With his other hand, he pulled out a set of keys and was about to undo the cuffs when he found a bruised and swollen hand stopping him. "I am just going to uncuff these. I will be as gentle as possible and then we can get you out of here and to a hospital with lots of hot nurses."

"I-I'm s-so s-sorry P-Phil, I-I-I pr-promise I-I tried, I-I really t-tried," Danny stammered.

"I know you did, but it's pretty difficult with a busted wrist and shoulder," Phil said gently – not understanding what Danny was trying to say.

"N-No n-not that. B-Before M-Miami," Danny slurred, his sentences becoming shorter as death continued to strongly wrap her icy fingers around him and try to pull him away from the life he knew.

"That doesn't matter right now. You can tell me later, okay?" Phil said. He wanted to know what Danny knew about what went down in Miami but this wasn't time or the place. He tried to uncuff the cuffs again, but Danny's busted wrist was still blocking him and he didn't want to cause Danny any more pain. "We have to get you to a hospital….now."

"N-No s-sorry Phil, I-I p-promise I-I t-tried, b-but s-stupid, n-not h-hard e-enough," Danny slurred, closing his eyes as another wave of pain rolled through his body.

Phil sighed. He knew that Danny was stubborn just as he was, and he wasn't going to budge until he had told his story. He just hoped that the story wouldn't cost Danny his life. "Tell me," he said gently, as he pulled his thick coat off and draped it over Danny's trembling shoulders. He removed his hat and pulled it over Danny's head, in a vain attempt to keep Danny from losing any more body heat.

"I-I k-knew w-warehouse t-trap. T-Tried t-to warn y-you. D-Didn't t-think y-you w-would l-listen t-to a k-kid. T-Trashed c-car, h-hoped i-it w-w-would stop y-you, s-stupid b-bad n-neighbourhood," Danny stammered. He felt himself drifting again. Everything was so painful. He couldn't do anything without having white-hot pain shoot through his body. Why couldn't Phil just leave? He was dead anyway. He didn't want Phil to die because of him. Phil had a wife and two kids; Danny had no one. He had no family and he wasn't going to have a job after this – what was the point of living? He had nothing but after what he had done in his life, he deserved nothing.

Phil sat for a moment, his mouth wide open with shock. Danny had tried to save his life. Why the hell hadn't he taken the trashed car as a warning sign? Danny had been beaten because of it. He leant forward and gently hugged Danny. "Oh Danny, man its not your fault. If anything it was my fault. Danny you were just a kid then, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry that I've had my head so far up my ass to not see what a great person you are. It wasn't your fault, you did everything you could and that bastard beat the shit out of you because you did the right thing. It was an incredibly brave thing," he said as he gently rubbed Danny's back. "Come on, kid, let's get you some medical attention."

Danny looked up with tears in his eyes. He had never told anyone what had happened that night. He had done everything he could to help those FBI agents, but it hadn't been enough and because of it, one of them was dead. He just couldn't believe the other one involved had forgiven him for what he had done. He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on breathing, but it was all so hard. He heard Phil talking to him again, he tried to listen but it was so hard. He was so scared.

"Danny, Danny I need to know how many people are here," Phil said gently as un-cuffed Danny.

"U-mm, f-five p-people a-all a-a-armed," Danny managed to cough out. He wiped his mouth, and stared at it in horror – it was covered in blood. He felt more tears stream down his face; he just wanted to slip into a semi-conscious state so death wouldn't be so scary.

"Hey," Phil said as he gently wiped the tears away. "It's going to be all right, Danny. You are going to be fine, I promise. Do you think you can stand?"

Danny slowly nodded, he didn't know if he could stand, and if he could he didn't know if he could make it passed the door, but he didn't want to disappoint Phil. "I-I t-think so."

"Okay, I want you to take nice and easy, and put all your weight on me," Phil said gently as he started to slowly and gently pull Danny to his feet. He knew he shouldn't move Danny in his condition, but he also knew that Danny probably wouldn't still be alive by the time SWAT arrived and secured the building. "Easy, Danny, easy," he said as he felt Danny sway despite his support. He took a moment to fully support Danny before he slowly made it to the door. He just hoped that none of these psycho torturers where going to be around to slow down their escape, but he knew that wasn't going to be the case. At the very least, he just hoped that he could get Danny out without adding to his injuries. God knows the kid didn't need anymore to add to the collection.

"Phil," Danny whispered in a small, lost voice. "Y-You should g-g-go, t-there is n-no w-way w-we c-can both g-get o-out o-of h-here a-alive. I-I am j-just g-going to b-be a-a b-burden to y-you, I-I-I don't w-want to y-you t-to g-get h-hurt or w-worse b-because of m-me. I-I-I d-don't w-want a-a w-wife t-to b-be w-widowed, I-I-I d-don't w-want c-children t-t-to f-f-fatherless b-b-because o-o-of m-m-me."

"And what about you, Danny? Does your mom deserve to lose her son all over again?" Phil asked gently as he tried to concentrate on two things at once – the threats that surrounded them and reassuring a dying Danny.

Danny looked at Phil with dazed, confused, fearful eyes as he tried to process what Phil was telling him. How could his mom still be alive? He had fucked up and because of him his mother was dead. "M-My l-l-life doesn't m-m-matter," he managed to blurted as he quickly looked down.

"Danny, did you hear me? Your mom is alive and she loves you," Phil said gently as he continued to scan the surrounding area for any sign of movement. "And why doesn't your life matter?"

Danny blinked several times, he was so tired – it was taking all of his strength just to stay upright and he couldn't even do that by himself. "M-My m-m-m-mom is a-alive," he exclaimed. "W-Wrong, I-I m-mess up, she's d-dead, i-it's a-all my f-fault."

On hearing footfalls, Phil quickly and gently eased Danny battered form behind a wall. He looked Danny squarely in the eyes. "Look at me," he said firmly as he squeezed Danny's shoulder. "Your mom is still alive, we found her and she is currently under FBI protection. Only me, Viv, Jack and the tech that ran the DNA test know that she is your mom. But I promise you, she is safe."

"Y-You p-promise?" Danny stammered, as he forced himself to concentrate on breathing – which was becoming harder and harder by the second. He was terrified, why was it so hard to breathe? Why was it so cold? He felt tears stream down his face, he wanted to wipe them away but he didn't have the strength to do so – he barely had the strength to stay alive.

"I promise," Phil said in a gently voice as if he was talking to a terrified child. He scanned the area and unholstered his gun. "It's going to be okay, I just need to check this out. But I need you to stay here, I will right back." He watched Danny slowly nod and reluctantly moved away. He didn't want to leave Danny, especially in the condition he was in.

"P-Phil" Danny said in a small, lost voice, as he watched him stand. He knew Phil said he was coming back, but part of him didn't believe him. No one apart from his mother had ever cared about it him, so why should Phil?

"Yes," Phil replied, flinching slightly as he looked into the deep brown fearful and lost eyes. He took one of Danny's hands and gently squeezed it. "I promise I'm not going to leave you. I've just gotta deal with a couple of psychos. That's all. I promise you I will be right back and then we will get you out of here – how does that sound?"

Danny slowly nodded and produced a weak smile for good measure. "T-That s-sounds o–okay," he stammered.

"Okay then, I will be right back, I promise you Danny I am not going to abandoned you, I just have to secure the area," Phil said gently as he continued to hold his glaze with Danny.

Danny tried to pull himself up; he was a trained FBI agent it was his job to secure the area as well. He couldn't leave Phil to do it by himself, the academy had told him that. "I-I'll h-help you," he stammered, gasping when white-hot pain seared through his body.

"You're injured," Phil said as he gently pushed Danny back down. "You stay here and watch my back." He handed Danny a two-way radio. "Now if you see or hear anything, you tell me but on the radio." He watched Danny slowly nodded before he turned and left. It was harder than he had ever imagined leaving Danny in that state. He couldn't believe he had been so blind all these years. It was only Marco Alvarez that had been rotten to the core; Danny had been on his side. At nine years old, Danny had tried to save his life and how had he repaid him? He had treated him like shit but that was going to change. Once Danny had recovered, no while Danny was recovering, he was going to make it up to him.

He didn't know how long he had been searching the warehouse before Danny's weak voice came on to the radio. "P-Phil, t-think I-I c-can hear s-s-something."

"Danny just hang tight, I will be there in a second," Phil said as he ran back to where he had left Danny. There was no way he was going to let Danny suffer at the hands of his father for a moment longer. As soon as he got to Danny, he flinched at the state Danny was in. He hadn't believed it was possible for someone to be in this condition and still be conscious, but then he had met Danny. "Hey kid, what did you hear?"

"V-Voices, F-Footsteps, t-that direction," Danny stammered as he weakly pointed in the direction of the entrance.

"Okay, Danny it's going to be okay. I want you just sit tight for a bit longer, while I check this out. I think, I hope this is the backup that I requested," Phil explained as he bent down and gently squeezed Danny shoulder. He closed his eyes briefly--it had to be backup. Judging by how rapidly Danny was deteriorating, he guessed he had internal bleeding and he needed medical attention now, or he would die. For the second time in a short period of time, Phil reluctantly left Danny's side. He cautiously rounded the corner, not knowing what was awaiting him.

"FBI SWAT! Drop you weapon!"

Phil froze and sighed in relief. He pulled his ID out his pocket and threw it across the floor. "Special Agent Glanville, I was the one that requested you," he said calmly, hoping this would only take a moment.

One of the SWAT agents picked up Phil's ID and closely inspected it, once it appeared too satisfactory he spoke. "Special Agent Glanville, what do you know?"

Phil sighed as he felt his SWAT training kicking in. "First drop the whole Special Agent thing. It's too much and takes too long to say. Name's Phil." He paused before he started to brief the SWAT team on the building, and what he knew about the hostiles.

The SWAT leader paused as he digested the information. "Do you need anything?" he asked.

"Yeah, I've got a casualty, he's one of us. I need to get him out of here. So as soon as the EMTs arrive, he can get medical attention," Phil explained quickly, looking around. This was taking too long. He had promised Danny he would be quick and Danny didn't have much time left. He needed to be treated and fast.

"Okay," the SWAT leader said, as he nodded in the direction of one his agents. "Larabee, go with Phil, the EMTs should be here in ten minutes."

Phil nodded and thanked the SWAT leader, before he turned and hurried towards Danny – Larabee hot on his heels. As he rounded the corner and saw Danny, his heart skipped a beat – Danny was deathly pale, slummed to one side and from this distance, it didn't appear as though he was breathing.

"Danny," Phil whispered as he quickly knelt beside the still form. He let out the breath he didn't realise he was holding, as he saw the shallow rise and fall of Danny's chest. "Danny, help's here, let's get you out of here," he said as he gently tapped Danny's cheek. He found a small smile as he watched Danny's eyes slowly flutter open. "That's it kid. Let's get you out of here."

It had taken a while to get Danny up and moving, but finally they were. Phil nodded to the young SWAT agent, before they moved out of the relative safety of the corridor. Watching the young agent swept each inch as they moved brought back memories, for him. They painfully, slowly, got to the entrance, where Phil and Larabee exchanged looks. They both knew the risks – they had to get a critical injured Danny across an exposed area – but what choice did they have?

Phil nodded at Larabee before he turned his attention to Danny, who was now resting his head on his shoulder. "Hey Danny, Danny," he said softly as he tried to get the near unconscious agent's attention. Once Danny's were finally focused on him, he began to talk. "Now kid, see that truck," he said as he nodded his head in the direction of one the SWAT SUVs. "We have to make it there. Because of the lay of the area, we are going to have to move fast. It may hurt a little, but I just want you to let me do all the work – understand?"

Danny nodded tiredly, it was all he could do; he was too exhausted to do anything else. He just wanted this to be over. He just wanted the pain to go away. He could barely put one foot in front of the other. He was barely aware of his surroundings. He didn't hear the gunfire, or Phil's surprised yelp of pain. But despite doing nothing, he was breathing hard; by the time he had been dragged to the SUV. He couldn't take the pain anymore. His world began to grow dark and it wasn't long before he completely slipped into the darkness.

Phil barely noticed the sharp pain in his arm as he practically dragged Danny across the open space that stood between them and safety. He was too concerned about Danny to hear or notice the gunfire. As he reached the relevant safety of the SUV, he could have cried with joy but for one thing, Danny collapsed limply into his grasp. He tried to hold on, to prevent the younger agent from hitting the ground hard, but his left arm was not cooperating. He couldn't express his gratitude enough as the young SWAT agent rushed over to help him ease Danny gently to the ground. He felt tears running down his face as he stared at Danny's pale, almost lifeless face. He lifted a shaky hand and checked for a pulse. He let out the breath that he didn't realise he was holding when he found what he was looking for. But it was too fast… too weak. It was so weak he could barely feel it. "Shit!" he swore. "Danny, Danny come on kid. Don't do this to me now!"

"Sir, u-mm Special Agent Glanville!"

"What!" Phil growled

"We need to get him out of the snow," Larabee said as he eyed the youngest agent with concern. "I've put the back seats down, so we've got some space."

"Shit, sorry," Phil apologised as he looked up at the SUV. "He's unconscious, can you give me a hand with getting him in there. I don't want to hurt him anymore than he already has been."

"Sure," Larabee said as he jumped forward and quickly took Danny's legs. Slowly and carefully, they got Danny into the back of the SUV. As soon as Danny was safely in, Larabee closed the back door and raced around to the side door. "What do you need?"

"He needs professional medical attention now!" Phil exclaimed as he eyed the pale, unmoving form. "But blankets, gauze and water will do for now," he continued in a softer voice. He ran a gentle hand through Danny's hair and continued to talk to the unconscious agent in a soft, gentle, soothing voice. He shivered slightly as the door was pulled open again and someone called his name.

"Special Agent Glanville," Larabee called out as he passed the gauze and water bottle to Phil. He carefully draped the blanket over the still form. He looked the injured agent up and down, he didn't have medical training, but he had seen death before, and the injured agent looked so close to death.

"Thanks," Phil said as he took the items from Larabee. He wetted the gauze and started to clean the dried blood from around the gunshot wound, before placing a clean wad of gauze over the wound that started to bleed again. "Oh and quit with the _'Special Agent' _thing, it's Phil. Anyway what's your name?"

"John," Larabee replied as he guilty looked at Phil's bleeding arm – which hadn't been touched. "Look Phil, I'm really sorry."

"What for?" Phil asked not looking up. He wetted another wad of gauze and started to clean the blood from Danny's face.

"Your arm, I should have… I should have seen the gunman," Larabee exclaimed.

"It's not your fault. I knew the risks, John," Phil said as he looked up for a moment. "I'm ex-SWAT, I knew the risks but we needed to get Danny of there. And anyway, a second after that gunman had fired his first shot; he had a bullet in his head. You did your job John and you did well. You got me and Danny out of there, unharmed apart from a scratch."

"Okay," Larabee managed to reply. He sat up he heard the wail of a siren. "I think that's the EMTs, I'll go and direct them."

Phil nodded, and returned his attention to his fallen colleague. "Danny, helps nearly here okay. You just hang on a bit longer and I am sure that you will have lots of hot nurses looking after you." He sighed when he got no reply. If had been more welcoming, hell he even had a civil exchange with the young agent, then maybe this wouldn't be happening. A sudden burst of activity pulled him out of his thoughts.

"What have we got?" one of the EMT asked quickly as he started to check his patient.

"U-mm," Phil stammered as he tried pulling himself together. "Danny Taylor, age 25, blood type AB negative, I dunno about allergies. He was shot in the shoulder two days ago, where he removed the bullet himself. U-mm, he's been coughing up blood and has been having difficulty breathing."

The EMT nodded. "How long has he been unconscious for?"

"U-mm about 10 minutes and he has remained unresponsive," Phil replied, not knowing how he did though.

"Okay, we've got from here. Sir, can you step out so we can have some room to work?"

"U-mm s-sure," Phil stammered as he reluctantly moved. He was just about to step out of the SUV went he stopped and turned. He took Danny's hand and squeezed it. "Danny I'm not abandoning you, I'm going to be right outside. But you've gotta hang in there – understand kid?" He sighed and closed his eyes when he got no response. He slowly closed the door and walked to John Larabee.

"How's he doing?" Larabee asked, although he knew the answer, he was just making conversation.

"Not good John, not good," Phil replied as he sadly shook his head.

"You should get yourself checked out," Larabee said as he eyed Phil's bleeding arm.

"I'll get it checked at the hospital," Phil said in a near whisper. He had no idea how much time had passed before he heard another voice calling his name. "Yeah," he said.

"Phil, we've secured the area. Made three arrests and but we had to neutralize two of the targets," the SWAT leader said in a clipped tone. "We tried to not too, but they didn't give us any choice."

"It's okay, I know the score, I used to be SWAT," Phil replied distantly. "Who are the fatalities?"

"Oh," the SWAT leader replied with a new air of respected laced into the tone of his voice. "An unknown associate of Marco Alvarez and Marco Alvarez himself."

"Damn," Phil exclaimed. "Sorry it's just I wanted to kill the bastard myself – its personal."

"Sorry, look we can clean up here if you want to ride with your guy," the SWAT leader said as his eyes shifted to the pale, unmoving form that was being transferred into the ambulance.

"Y-Yeah," Phil stammered as he followed the SWAT leader's glaze. "That would be great thanks."

"What's your boss's name so I can send a report?"

"Jack, Jack Malone," Phil replied quickly as he sprinted towards the ambulance, not seeing the SWAT leader's reaction to those three words.

"Oh hell," the SWAT leader swore as he visibly paled and clutched onto the SUV for support. He had heard about Jack's overbearing protectiveness of his team – hell what New York FBI agent hadn't. His bad day was just about to get longer.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Phil grabbed Danny's hand as soon as he had got into the ambulance and squeezed it. "Hang in there kiddo, just hang in there," he whispered. He closed his eyes in a vain attempt to block out the frantic work of the EMT working on Danny. He knew nothing bore well. Danny was dying and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it. Once they got to the hospital he had been forcefully pushed into a treatment room. But he couldn't sit still he needed to know how Danny was. He looked passed the doctor that was treating him, to see a gurney surrounded by medical equipment, frantically being pushed towards the elevators. He dodged the doctor's grasp and hurried out into the hallway. "Where are you taking him," he called out as he jogged beside the gurney.

"Mount Sinai," came the clipped reply. "We are not equipped to deal with his injuries here."

"I'm going with him," Phil said as he took Danny's hand.

"Sir you need to looked at yourself," one of the doctors replied

"This chopper is going to a hospital right?" Phil growled. "I will get checked out there."

"Sir…"

"Look unless you come up with a sound medical excuse, I am not going to let him be alone, he's had enough of that in his life. He doesn't need it now!" Phil growled and glared at one of the doctors.

The doctor shook his head and sighed. "Fine go, but stay out of the way."

Phil nodded and quickly climbed into the chopper, resuming his supportive hold of Danny's hand.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jack slammed the door and ran up to the man who looked he was in charge. "Where are my agents?" he growled.

The SWAT leader, Jason Close, paled. So this was Jack Malone. He could understand why people feared him and now he was about to the job that most people that had dealt with Malone had nightmares about. "They should be at the hospital now," he replied tensely.

"What?" Jack exclaimed, as he started to ball his hands into fists. "What are their conditions?"

"Phil Glanville, took a bullet to his left upper arm, it looks like it's a through and through," Jason replied nervously. He swallowed and his eyes darted around for an escape, which he knew he would need once he told Malone about Taylor.

"Okay and what about the other agent?" Jack growled as he took a step closer to Jason.

"Taylor, u-mm, I dunno how to tell you this," Jason stammered.

"How about you to try by telling me!"

"U-mm, Taylor, he looked bad, really bad."

Jack leant against the car, feeling crushed. He was too late, too god damn late. "Have you made any arrests?"

"Yes sir, three but there were two fatalities," Jason replied as he looked sadly at Jack Malone. The man obviously really cared about his agents, something that was rare.

"Who are the fatalities?" Jack asked in a small voice.

"An associate of Marco Alvarez and Marco Alvarez himself," Jason said. He quickly added, "I'm sorry, sir, we didn't have any choice."

"I know, I know I just wish that I could've done it myself," Jack said fiercely as he started to walk towards his car. "The three you have arrested--can you transport to New York?"

"Of course sir," Jason replied. He understood why people feared Jack Malone, but what he didn't understand was people critising the man. He was a good agent who really looked out for his agents. If the FBI had few more Malone's it would be a better agency – he was sure of it.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jack cursed as the traffic report announced the closure of the interstate. There had been a huge accident because of the un-forecasted snow and no salt on the roads. He had to get to New York, he had to know if Danny was going to be all right and he had to do it in person. He hit the sirens and light and drove down the hard shoulder to the next exit. The back roads wouldn't have been gritted in days, but he didn't care he had to get to New York. That's where he belonged, that's where he was needed. He still felt that gut wrenching fear when the SWAT leader had told that both his agents where hurt and on their way to the hospital. He had actually been physically sick when he had arrived at the hospital and doctor had told him that they weren't equipped to deal with Danny's injuries and he had been medivaced to New York. As he thought of Danny and the injuries he had received at the hand of his father, caused to drive faster, to drive harder. He bit back the tears that threatened, Danny could already be dead and it was all his fault.

He was so caught up in his own thoughts that he wasn't paying attention to the road. He didn't see the ice, he was driving too fast for the weather conditions, and he was driving too fast for the road and rapidly approaching corner. By the time he realised it was too late. He hit the brakes, but the wheels locked and tires were useless on the icy road. He turned into the skid in a vain attempt to regain control of the car, but to no avail. The car spun hopelessly out of control towards the wood and the steep drop towards the fast moving, ice-cold river.


	9. Chapter 9

**A massive thanks to anmodo for betaing this chapter. Also thanks to everyone that has reviewed.**

**Chapter 9**

Phil felt as though he was in a trance, as the helicopter took off and headed rapidly towards New York. He didn't feel the soaked clothes that clung to his shivering body. He didn't feel the ragged hole in his arm. He heard the urgent, clipped words of the medical team, but didn't comprehend them. It was as though someone had dulled all of his senses, apart from one – his connection to his fallen colleague. Danny was so deathly pale with so many tubes and wires attached to him, that if it hadn't been for the heart monitor, Phil would have thought Danny was dead. But the kid fought on, he fought against every odd and defied medical reason. He shouldn't be alive right now, but because of some thing that could only be described as a miracle, he was. But the tubes, the wires and respirator were almost too much to bear, as he felt tears threaten. He angrily wiped away the tears that had begun to roll down his cheeks. He shouldn't be crying. He didn't deserve to cry after the way he treated Danny. This was all his fault. If he hadn't been so hostile, so arrogant then maybe Danny would have trusted them enough to tell them about the threats. And if he had, then he wouldn't be dying in some god damn helicopter.

"Shit! We're losing him," one the medics yelled, as the alarms began to sound.

Phil didn't hear the alarms, nor did he notice the frantic actions of the medical team as they tried to save Danny's life but he did react when his hand was forcefully removed from Danny's. "What the fuck are you doing?" he exclaimed, still not understanding what was happening around him. He tried to grab Danny's hand but found someone stopping him. It was then, he heard the alarms and saw the frantic actions of the medics.

"CLEAR!" one the medics yelled as he prepared to shock his patient, in attempt to gain a pulse.

"Oh Danny," Phil cried as tears streamed down his face. "Danny, come on kid you have to fight." He gently brushed a couple of wayward strands of hair off his cold, clammy forehead. "Fight Danny. Don't let that bastard win."

"CLEAR!" the medic yelled again, when the first attempt didn't regain a pulse.

Phil closed his eyes as he felt nausea threaten, as he watched Danny's body jerk as the electric current shot through his body. "Please Danny, I could never forgive myself if you didn't pull through," he whispered. "You're so brave, braver than I could ever be. Please Danny, don't quit, and don't give up. There are so many people that care about you."

"I've got a pulse," the medic yelled. "Sam," he yelled at the helicopter pilot. "Whatever your ETA is, you need to cut it in half…" He trailed off, his words and the tone of his voice filling his silence.

Phil let out a silent pray of thanks. "That's it, Danny, you hang in there. I swear to you, when you wake up, someone will be there for you. You're not going to be alone, I promise," he said in a near whisper. "You're never going to be alone again." He moved forward and resumed his supportive hold of Danny's hand, while with his other hand he gently stroked Danny's forehead. Tears continued to stream down his face. Danny was far too young to die. But he had seen it before. He had seen too many times during his time in the army and Danny wasn't going to one of young brave men, he saw cut down in the prime of their lives. He didn't think he could live with it, he knew he wouldn't be able to tell Viv and…. Jack, especially Jack. Jack had really bonded with their latest addition to the team.

Phil willed the chopper faster. If he thought positively, they would get to the hospital faster. That Danny would get treatment faster, that Danny would survive. He felt the helicopter begin to descend and shifted his position so he would be in the way of the people that would hopefully give Danny life saving treatment.

The door burst open and a new set of faces with the same questions arrived. The rotor blades hadn't even stopped turning before they had Danny out of the helicopter and racing towards the entrance with Phil in hot pursuit.

Phil raced after the gurney, reaching forward he grasped Danny's hand once again. He didn't know why he did this, Danny was completely unresponsive. He liked to think that Danny would know he wasn't alone, but maybe it was for his emotional state as well. Maybe he felt if he clung to Danny's hand, he was in some way helping Danny. But he knew he wasn't, he knew he was only doing for his own selfish reasons. He had only hoped that his actions were in some way comforting to Danny, so some how knew that he wasn't alone. He raced with Danny's gurney through the endless hospital corridors.

"Sir, you will have to wait here."

"What?" Phil explained. "Why? No I need to be there for him."

"Sir once he's out of surgery we will inform you and you need that arm seen to."

Phil found himself nodding as he stepped backwards and collapsed against the wall, letting his head fall into his hands. The grim expression on the surgeons' faces haunted him. Their clipped tones were like a knife in his gut. They didn't hold out much hope that Danny would survive the surgery. He bit his lip as the pain shot through his arm. He had come out of it with barely a scratch like he had when Marco Alvarez had first strike at his friends, but Danny wasn't going to die like Max Collins had. Danny was going be alive to bug Jack for a lot longer.

"Phil."

Phil's head shoot up as he heard a familiar, gentle voice. "V-Viv," he stammered as he came face to face with Viv.

"Phil, you're hurt. You need that tended to," Viv said gently as she touched his shoulder.

"Its fine, it will wait," Phil growled.

"No it won't," Viv replied shortly. "You need treatment now!"

"NO I DON'T, it will wait," Phil yelled as he turned away.

Viv sighed there was obviously far more happening than met the eye. "Phil what's up? Where's Jack. Why are you sitting outside the OR?" she questioned.

"Danny, oh Danny. It's all my fault," Phil whispered as he buried his head in his hands.

"Danny, you've found Danny?"

"Yes, he's in there," Phil said as he pointed towards the OR. "His injuries were far too serious for the hospital in Poughkeepsie to deal with. When I found him, oh god Viv, it's all my fault. That bastard tortured him, he was his father. How can a father do that to his child?"

Viv ran a gentle thumb over Phil's cheek wiping away his tears. "I don't know Phil, Marco Alvarez is not human. But Danny is and he will pull through his. But he will need all of us when he wakes up, so let's get that arm tended to."

Phil nodded and slowly pulled himself to his feet with Viv's help. He took one final look at the OR before heading towards the elevators.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jack blinked his eyes and groaned as he slowly began to regain consciousness. Where was he? What the hell had happened? He opened his eyes and looked around, as he tried to work out where he was and what had happened. Why was the car on an angle? Why could he hear the rushing of water? Why was it so cold? He tried to find the answers to these questions, but only found more questions.

He slowly leaned back in his seat and tried to work out the clinks in his back. He looked at his surroundings; his car was on some bank with a fast moving river just below him. He looked to his left and saw tire tracks down the steep tree covered slope. In his confused mind, he concluded that he must have come from there, but why? Then it hit him like a punch to the gut – Danny. Oh god Danny, he thought. He had been driving from Poughkeepsie to New York because Danny's injuries had been far too serious for them to deal with. They didn't even know if Danny would make the journey to Mount Sinai but they didn't have any choice. Danny would die if had stayed at Poughkeepsie. He closed his eyes as he thought of the moment he had been told of Danny's condition.

Flashback

_Jack burst into the hospital and ran up to the desk. "Two of my agent's were brought in earlier, where are they?" he asked breathlessly._

_The young receptionist looked up nervously. "Sir, can I see some ID and the names of your agents?" she asked quickly._

_Jack glared at her, before he pulled his ID and slammed it on to the desk. "My name is Special Agent Jack Malone and my agents are Special Agents Phil Glanville and Danny Taylor," he growled._

_The receptionist looked down and furiously started to type, trying to avoid eye contact with ice cold eyes. As the results came up she stared at them, as she tried to comprehend what she was looking at – it just didn't make sense. "Sir, I from what I am reading they have both been discharged," she stammered._

"_What!" Jack exclaimed. "That can't be true; I know for a fact that Phil was shot and Danny… Danny." He couldn't continue._

"_Sir, if you would like, I get a doctor for you to talk to," the receptionist said with a slight smile._

"_What! U-mm, thanks that would be great," he sighed. He closed his eyes, and raked his hands through his dishevelled hair. He looked around the small waiting room for any sign of his agents, but he some how knew that he wouldn't see them. Why would his agents be discharged if they injured? Maybe, maybe…. no if Danny and Phil were dead, then the system wouldn't list them as discharged. The only plausible explanation was that there was an error in the system._

"_Excuse me, are you Agent Malone?"_

_Jack looked up and found himself staring at a middle aged doctor wearing scrubs. "Y-Yeah," he stammered, as he tried to read the doctor's body language. But he was just too tired, all he wanted to know was that his agents where fine and that they were probably on their way back to New York, but some how he knew this wouldn't be the case. "How are my agents?" he asked desperately._

"_Agent Glanville sustained a gunshot wound to his upper left arm. It was a through and through and he should be fine," the doctor started. He looked around, knowing that when he told Agent Malone about Agent Taylor it should be in private._

"_He should be?" Jack questioned, at the same time wondering why the doctor hadn't told him about Danny._

"_He discharged himself before we could treat him."_

"_What? Why?" Jack exclaimed._

"_I think we should talk about this in my office," the doctor suggested._

"_No, why did Phil discharge himself?" Jack demanded. He knew Phil had done some reckless things in this life and he knew had a disregard to medical attention but this just didn't make sense._

"_Sir, I really think it would be better if we discuss this in my office," the doctor tried again._

"_No, you god damn tell me here. I don't have time for these games," Jack yelled._

"_Okay then, but I must insist that you sit."_

_Jack frowned but found the doctor's request. Ice cold fear wrapped around him. Why had Phil discharged himself? Danny, he thought, oh god Danny. He closed his eyes and continued to rack his hands through his hair. "Please just tell me. Don't leave me hanging like this," he pleaded._

_The doctor sighed as he eyed the tired, dishevelled looking agent, carefully. "Agent Glanville discharged himself before treatment because he was travelling down to New York," he started._

"_What? I don't understand? Why is he travelling to New York without treatment?" Jack stammered as he began to fire off questions._

"_He travelled down to New York because Agent Taylor was travelling down to New York," the doctor started slowly, not knowing how to phase his news._

"_Why? Why are they both travelling down to New York? What aren't you telling me doc?" Jack demanded._

"_They are travelling down to New York because of Agent Taylor's injuries. They are too severe for us to deal with. We are not equipped to deal with them, so we are having him medivaced to Mount Sinai in New York."_

_Jack clenched his jaw as he felt nausea threaten. "What are his injuries?" he managed to blurt out. _

"_At least six broken ribs, two of which have punctured his left lung, internal bleeding, a two day old gunshot wound to his shoulder that still has bullet fragments in it, a broken wrist, concussion, various lacerations," the doctor said as he reeled off, what seemed like a never ending list. "Some of the wounds have become infected. We have started him on a cocktail of antibiotics to try and prevent pneumonia. But with his present condition and the fact he was held in a cold, damp room for the last couple of days, it's a real possibility that he will contract it."_

"_Thanks doc," Jack managed to blurt out, before he took off towards the bathroom, where he found himself emptying the contents of his stomach into a basin. Tears streamed down his face, this was so unfair, so messed up. Danny was so young, he had spent years trying to escape his father. He had worked so hard to rebuild his life and now, when he was doing so well, the man whose hands should have protected him may take that life from him._

_End flashback_

Jack closed his eyes and bit back tears as he thought of Danny. Memories came flooding back to him. He was driving down to New York on the interstate and because of the snow, there had been a crash and the road was closed, so he had taken to the back roads. He vaguely remembered passing the military training academy at West Point but he hadn't reached the city. He shook his head as he forced his confused, fatigued, fearful brain into gear. The water level in the car was rising; he had to get out fast. He looked out of the driver's window only to see torrents of white water. Undoing his seatbelt, he climbed stiffly across the car to passenger's side and tried the door – but it wouldn't budge. He felt his panic rising with the rising water. He started to kick the door, hoping it would give. Finally after what felt like ages, the door flung open and he collapsed on to the muddy river bank. He rolled over on to his back as he gasped for air. With trembling fingers he pulled out his cell phone and dialled a number.

"Freedman," Special Agent Rick Freedman, one Jack's oldest friends in the FBI said as he answered his phone. He frowned when there was nothing but silence on the other end. He pulled his phone from his ear and stared at the caller ID. "Jack?"

"R-Rick, u-mm," Jack stammered, as he slowly sat up and pulled his knees to his chest.

"That would be right considering you phoned me," Rick joked, but he soon turned serious, when he continued to get nothing but silence on Jack's end. "Jack, hey man, are you alright?"

"I-I, Rick, I-I, u-mm I-I think so," Jack stammered.

"Jack what happened? Have you found Danny?"

"Danny? Oh god Danny, it's all my fault, it's all my fault," Jack sobbed as tears streamed down his face.

"Jack you're going to have to tell what me what happened. Why is it you fault?" Rick asked gently, his concern growing for his friend by the second. He grabbed his coat and his car keys and headed towards the elevator. "Jack where are you?"

"Car crash"

"Okay Jack you're going to have to give me more than that. Who was in the car crash?" Rick asked gently, as he furiously stabbed the button to the basement.

"No, Danny, Danny was tortured, they're medivacing him to Mount Sinai," Jack blurted out

"So you were in a car crash?" Rick concluded, wincing when Jack told him about Danny. "Where are you?"

"U-mm I-I, I-I"

Rick closed his eyes, as his mind conjured up images of an injured Jack Malone. "Jack quit screwing around and tell where the fuck you are!" he yelled, reluctantly.

Jack shook his head; it was as though the yelling voice had cleared the fog in his brain. "The interstate was closed so I took a back road. I am pretty sure I have passed West Point, but I haven't reached the city yet. I'm by a river."

"Okay I think I know where you are, Jack can you get yourself up to the road?" Rick asked he got into his car and started it.

"U-mm, yeah, yes I can."

"Hang tight, Jack. I will be there soon," Rick reassured,

Jack closed his eyes as he disconnected the call. He turned his head and looked up at the steep muddy slope. He took a breath as he slowly started up the steep slope, but with step he slid half a step back. Eventually, after what felt like a lifetime he reached the top of the slope – breathing hard. He leaned against a tree as he tried to catch his breath. He didn't know how he had been waiting when he hear a car horn.

"Jack," Rick yelled from his Dodge pickup.

Jack looked up and found himself walking over to his lift, where he silently and stiffly climbed aboard. He muttered thanks to Rick, before he continued to sink into his guilt ridden thoughts.

Rick frowned; Jack always made some comment about his truck; always telling him that he didn't need the thing in the city, but not this time. This he just sat in silence and looked glumly at his feet. "Jack are you alright?" he finally asked.

"Fine, just take me to Mount Sinai," Jack growled softly

"Jack, do you have a headache, or blurred vision? Do you feel sick?" Rick asked, as he was looking for signs of concussion. As he debated with whether or not, to take his friend to a local hospital or wait until they got to Mount Sinai.

"I don't have a god damn concussion," Jack growled. "Just take me to Mount Sinai!"

"Okay, okay," Rick retorted. He sighed, at least Jack was aware enough to realise he was checking for signs of concussion. "The kid has really got to you, hasn't he?"

Jack looked up with guilt and pain filled eyes. "Please Rick just take me to Mount Sinai," he pleaded.

"Sure Jack, no problem," Rick said softly, as he pulled back onto the road and headed towards city. The moment he saw the look in his friend's eyes, he forgot all about his less than courteous manner.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Phil began to pace the room in ever decreasing circles like a caged lion. Each movement, each sound caused him to jump and glare desperately towards the imagery sound before he resumed pacing again.

"Phil will you cut that out," Viv exclaimed, when Phil resumed his pacing. "Danny's going to need us to get through this and you can't help him, if you don't rest as you have been told to do!"

Phil glared at Viv. "Viv it's my fault this happened. If I had…" But he was cut off by Viv.

"If you had done what, Phil?" Viv started in a calm voice, as she tried to hold the fort, like she had so often before. "If you had read Danny's mind and realised his father was alive and blackmailing him, then maybe this wouldn't have happened? But you didn't, because you're not a mind reader."

"But it's my god damn fault!"

"Why is it you're fault?" Viv questioned. "Did you tell Mr. Alvarez where Danny was? Did you shoot Danny? Did you beat him?"

"No, no of course not. I would never do that!" Phil exclaimed, as he racked his hands through his dishevelled hair.

"I know you wouldn't, Phil. But then how is it your fault?"

"Because, because I was such a bastard to him. If I had been more welcoming then maybe he would trust us enough to tell us. But no I had to be a pig headed bastard, and because of that Danny is probably dead," Phil said almost yelling.

Viv took a moment to size up the situation before replying. "Sure you could've been more welcoming, but I don't think that would've changed anything. Danny's been passed from one disinterested person to another, one abusive person to another, his whole life. I think he's too scared to trust anyone, maybe he doesn't even know how," Viv said finishing in a near whisper as she bit back tears. "But don't give up on him yet. The one thing I know about Danny, is that he is a fighter."

Phil nodded sadly. He leant against the wall, and slid down it. He held his head in his hands and silently wept. He would never tell anyone about what exactly transpired in that warehouse, but it had changed him. "I hope so Viv I hope so," he whispered into his hands. His head shot up as soon as he heard a door opening. He was both relieved and disappointed to see Jack standing in the door way.

"Jack what the hell happened to you?" Viv exclaimed, as she saw his battered appearance.

"U-mm," Jack said absentmindedly as he surveyed the tiny waiting room. "U-mm car crash."

"What?" Phil said as he was pulled out his trace like state.

"Jack, are you okay? Have you had yourself checked out?" Viv questioned quickly

"I'm fine, Rick picked me up and took me to the ER to be checked out," Jack said in the same distracted tone. He was just about to ask about Danny when Viv cut in.

"What happened?"

"I-I, the interstate was closed because of a crash, so took to the back roads. I-I guess I was driving too fast and I wasn't paying enough attention. I lost control around a corner and ended up down the river bank," Jack said tiredly. "Any news on Danny?" he added quickly.

"No," Phil said quietly. "We've waiting for hours! Why wouldn't they tell us anything?"

"They will as soon as they know anything," Viv said gently, as she looked between the two men.

"Damn it, I should have found him earlier, I should have looked for earlier. Then he wouldn't be in the state he is in," Jack exclaimed as he started to pace.

Viv sighed and shook her head. "Jack it's not your fault…" But she was soon cut off by Jack.

"I should've noticed something was wrong. I should've helped him. I thought he knew he could trust me!"

"Damn it Jack, its no one's fault apart from Marco Alvarez's. You know Danny's history, as I was explaining to Phil, how many people do you think Danny trusted and they betrayed his trust?" Viv said as she tried to reason with Jack.

"Viv I don't care how you phrase it, but it is my fault." Jack was just about to continue when the door opened.

"Are you here for Agent Taylor?" the doctor in his forties asked.

"Yes!" Phil said quickly as he stood up. "How is he?"

"I'm Doctor Clegg; Agent Taylor's surgeon," Doctor Clegg said as he introduced himself. "Firstly despite our doubts, Agent Taylor has made it through surgery."

The remaining team collective let out the breath they where holding. Phil was the first to recover. "How is he? Is he going to make a full recovery?" he asked.

"He is still in a critical condition. We managed to repair the lung and we think we have stopped all of the bleeding. But the next 48 hours will be critical. If he can make it through those 48 hours, I am cautiously optimistic he will make a fully recovery."

"Can we see him?" Phil asked

"He has been through major surgery. He needs to rest," Doctor Clegg started

"I won't disturb him; I just wanna sit with him. I just want him to know, he's not alone and he's safe," Phil explained in a slightly lost voice.

"Okay then," Doctor Clegg sighed. "I will have someone show you to his room, once we have him settled."

"Thank you Doctor," Viv said with a smile, as she glared at the other two men.

"I-I've g-gotta go," Jack stammered, as he started to bolt out of the room. He was so racked with guilt that he couldn't sit with Danny. He couldn't see the damage that he could have prevented. It was all his fault.

"Where are you going?" Viv asked as Jack bolted out of the tiny, airless room.

"Suspects. U-mm the people that held Danny, gotta interrogate them."

"Jack, it's not our case anymore. Let another unit do it," Viv suggested gently.

"NO I don't want them to fuck it up. Those bastards went after my team. They put one of MY agents in the hospital, they damn near killed him and they still might do!" Jack yelled. "I am not going to let anyone else deal with it." Without another word, Jack bolted from the room and sprinted down the corridors. He just had to get out. It was his entire fault. At least if he interrogated those bastards, he was doing something to help Danny.


	10. Chapter 10

**Major apologies for huge delay between updates. As always a massive thank you to amnodo for betaing this chapter. Also thanks to everyone that has reviewed.**

**Chapter 10**

Phil watched as though he was in a trance as Jack fled the room. He wanted to yell out and stop him, but no words came out. He wanted to tell Jack that it wasn't his fault, but how could he when he also blamed himself. He wanted to beat the crap out of the people that put Danny in the hospital. But Danny really needed all of them, especially Jack. Out of all of them, Jack was the one that Danny trusted the most. He sighed, he had promised Danny that when he woke up he wouldn't be alone and he wasn't going to break that promise. He wanted to react, he wanted to run and catch up with Jack. He wanted to yell at Jack and try to get it through his thick skull that Danny needed him; that it wasn't his fault. But how could he do that when he still blamed himself?

"What the hell?" he ranted, not knowing what else to say. "He was all broken up about Danny's disappearance and now when the kid needs him the most, he bails!"

"It's just his way of dealing," Viv explained with a gentle smile. "He needs to feel like he's doing some thing. He needs to feel like he's helping Danny and, in his mind, that's avenging what happened to him."

"But it's not his fault!" Phil exclaimed.

"And it's not your fault, but you still blame yourself." Viv said gently.

"You don't understand; it is my fault!" Phil exclaimed. "There was nothing Jack could've done but…"

"But what Phil," Viv said cutting him off. "But what Phil?"

"I could've done something!"

"Like what? Sure you should have treated him better, but that's in the past. Anyway, with the childhood Danny had I doubt that would've made a difference."

"But…"

"But nothing, Phil. You said it yourself Danny needs us. What he doesn't need is a bunch of guilt-ridden people sitting around him. So goddamn swallow your guilt and do something constructive like support the poor kid," Viv said in a forceful tone.

Phil stared at his feet for a while before replying. "You're right." He was just about to continue when a nurse entered the room.

"Are you here for Agent Taylor?" she asked

"Yes, can we see him now?" Viv asked quickly.

"Yes, but only one at a time," the nurse replied.

Phil looked down, feeling uncomfortable under Viv's glare. "I'll go," he said as he finally found his voice. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he followed the nurse out of the door. The corridors seemed endless as he wandered down them. He wondered if they would ever end. Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, he arrived at his destination. He was vaguely aware of saying something before he found himself entering the room.

He took another deep breath before he walked up to see someone who was usually so full of life, look so pale and almost lifeless. He had never seen Danny look so young and vulnerable nor did ever want to again.

Phil sat in silence for a while as he tried to collect himself. This was not the end. Danny was going to pull through. Danny was going to be part of the team. He just hoped that Danny would recover, and when he did, he would still want to be on Jack's team.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jack rested his head against the steering wheel for a few moments before he started the engine. Part of him knew he should've stayed at the hospital to support Danny, but what good would that do? Viv and Phil were there, and besides he doubted Danny would like to see the ugly face that got him into this mess. No it would be best for Danny if he dealt with the people that hurt him. Then maybe he would be comfortable enough to visit Danny. Danny was a tough kid, he had survived worse. He was going to be fine and certainly didn't need him to achieve that. He sighed and started the engine as he headed back towards the office.

He was completely oblivious to time on his trip over to the office. The only thing that was charging through his mind was… revenge. No one hurt one his agents and got away with it no one. He didn't know what made the situation worse – the fact that the main culprit was Danny's father or that fact that he was dead. He closed his eyes as he stumbled into the elevator. He raked his hands through his dishevelled hair in an attempt to pull himself together. He didn't care if his anger was contained; those bastards deserved everything that was coming to them after what they did to Danny.

As he reached the interrogation room, he took a deep breath before he stepped in. In front of him stood one thick set man with a slightly amused expression on his face. He could feel his blood boil, but forced himself to show no outward signs – for the time being anyway.

"Look, I have been sitting here for several hours in this cold, damp room. The lighting is too bright and I believe my human rights have been infringed. So I was wondering if one of you could let me know why the hell I am here?" Carlos Rodriquez said.

Jack clenched his jaw as he tried to contain his anger. If he brutally beat the living daylights out of this scumbag, it wouldn't help Danny and that bastard would walk free. "You know exactly why you are here," he growled.

"No I don't and I am going to sue you for infringing on my human rights," Carlos said with a smirk.

Jack swung around and slammed both of his fists down on the interrogation room table, the sound echoing around the small room. "How about the kidnap, torture and attempted murder of a federal agent for starters," he growled, barely containing his anger.

"What?" Carlos exclaimed, suddenly nervously looking around the small room. "I didn't know he was a fed."

"Oh? That makes it okay then?" Jack growled as he kicked the chair that Carlos was sitting on, causing it to crash to the ground.

"No u-mm, I-I want a deal."

"So are you confessing to the kidnap, torture and attempted murder of a federal agent?" Jack asked coldly, as he clenched his fists.

"I-I, I-I didn't know he was a fed," Carlos stammered as he repeated himself again, as his tough façade began to rapid fall apart. "You have still infringed on my human rights!"

"Right now, I don't give a flying fuck about your human rights!" Jack yelled. He took a breath as he composed himself again. He felt a small, evil smile play on his lips. "But as you were arrested on terrorism charges, I did nothing legally wrong. In fact, I have several more hours before you are entitled to legal advice."

"Look I want a deal, I can help you," Carlos stammered as his eyes darted around the room.

"You can help me?" Jack said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes I-I c-can help you," Carlos stammered with a terrified smile.

"There is no fucking way in hell I am going to get you a deal, when you put one of my agents in a critical condition. And you better start praying that he pulls through and makes a full recovery, because if he doesn't you will get the death penalty." Jack leaned forward and whispered in Carlos's ear, "and it wouldn't be humanly done by the state, it will be done by me."

"I-I I-I swear I-I didn't know he was a fed. I-I was only following o-orders. I-I swear I didn't know he was a fed," Carlos stammered as he looked for means of escape.

"So that makes it okay?" Jack growled.

"U-mm, I-I."

Jack looked at Carlos in disgust. He couldn't deal with this scum any longer. He couldn't stand to be in the same room a moment longer because he knew if he did, he would end up killing the bastard. He took one final disgusted look at Carlos before he stormed out. "He's all yours," he growled at one of the FBI counter terrorism agents.

As his felt his emotions begin to get the better of him, he quickened his pace. Once in his office, he collapsed on his couch and held his head his hands. He felt tears of guilt and emotion streaming down his face. Danny had to make in it, he had no idea what he would do if he didn't. He took a breath and rubbed his face. He had to do some thing. It was his fault that Danny was hurt and at the very least he could do some thing to help Danny's mother. After taking a moment to collect himself, he picked up the phone and began to make phone calls.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Phil didn't know how long he had been sitting, waiting for Danny to wake up. He figured that he must have drifted off for a bit. As he glanced at his watch, he confirmed his assumption. Eight hours had passed and Danny looked exactly the same, if anything he looked worse. He knew the next forty hours were going to be critical but how Danny looked now, he didn't think that Danny would be see another sunrise. He took Danny's hand and gently squeezed it. "Danny, come on kid you've got to wake up. Viv and I are really worried. Jack, well I'm really worried about him. He blames himself for everything that has happened to you. Oh, then there is your mom, she doesn't know anything about this, but she loves you. Please kiddo just open your eyes for me."

Phil looked at Danny for any signs of response but found none. He gently rested a hand on Danny's forehead. "Just keep on fighting Danny-boy, just fight."

He groaned as he stumbled through the inky darkness. Each step he took was more terrifying that the last. He heard a voice in the distance, he started to walk towards it but as he did, pain slammed into his body. He gasped as he tried to escape, but there was no escape. The sounds and light overloaded his senses. Even though the inky darkness was terrifying he wanted sink back into it – anything was better than this.

"D-Danny!" Phil stammered as he found two focused eyes staring at him. "Danny, Danny-boy its okay kiddo, you're safe. You're in hospital but you're going to be all right."

Danny blinked several times as he tried to make sense of his surrounding. He closed his eyes as the events of the last couple of days caught up with him. He had some how dragged the team into the mess that was his life. His mom was dead and to top it all, he'd most likely lost his job. But as he became more aware of his surroundings, he realised there was something down his throat that stopping him breathing. He tried to get at whatever stopping him from breathing, but something was stopping him from doing that as well.

"Danny, Danny, no, that's helping you breathe," Phil said as he gently took arm – preventing him from pulling the respirator out. "Danny, listen to me. You're in hospital and you're going be fine, but you just have to calm down."

Danny allowed himself to relax slightly. He tried to hold back the tears that threatened to escape, but he couldn't. He barely understood what was going around him, but what he did know was that he was unless. He looked away, he felt so ashamed he just wanted the world to open and swallow him.

"Danny, what's the matter?" Phil asked his voice laced with concern.

Danny looked away again. He couldn't face anyone. He had loved his job at the FBI; he had finally been respected. And now because his stupid mistakes, that respect had been taken away faster that he had earned it.

"Danny I can't help you if don't tell me what's wrong," Phil said gently as he took Danny's and squeezed it. "Danny I can help you, I want to help you."

Danny closed his eyes as fatigue began to set in once more, but tears continued to stream down his face. It wouldn't make any difference if he told Phil; he already thought he was the scum of the earth. He was vaguely aware of mouthing 'Jack' and 'job' before exhaustion took hold.

"Oh Danny," Phil whispered as he gently wiped the tears from Danny's eyes. He gently ran a hand through Danny's hair. "Danny, its not your fault Jack's just a little messed up at the moment. But I promise you, you haven't lost your job." Phil took a shaky breath as he tried to compose himself. He knew Jack had dealt with the scum hours ago but what he didn't understand was; why hadn't Jack visited Danny. But he was going to find out and correct Jack's errors.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Phil stormed through the bullpen and into Jack's office. "What the hell is up with you?" he yelled as he slammed the door behind him.

"What!" Jack exclaimed, as he looked up from his paperwork.

"You know what I am talking about!"

"No I don't," Jack growled as he stood up and glared at Phil.

"Danny, that's who I'm talking about," Phil yelled.

"If you hadn't noticed I'm trying to help him," Jack yelled back.

"By what? Doing paperwork! Jack, the case is closed. Danny needs you."

"No, he doesn't. I am the reason he is in the hospital!"

"It's not your fucking fault. You were the one that bonded with Danny! And now the poor kid is all screwed up about it. He thinks you are going to fire him, he thinks it's his fault," Phil exclaimed as he picked up some of the paperwork on Jack's desk and threw it at the room.

"I can fucking suspend you for your actions," Jack yelled back as he looked between the scattered papers and Phil.

"I don't care. All I care about right now is Danny. You were the one that bonded with him, and now you're the one that's abandoned him. He's been through enough in his life, he doesn't need to go through it again," Phil continued in a much softer tone.

"I can't Phil, I can't. I should've protected him, I should've of helped him. I-I should've of see this happening and prevented it," Jack said in a small, lost voice.

"Jack it's not about you or I, or anyone else for that matter. It's about Danny and the support he needs," Phil said in a gentle voice. "Please visit him, tell him that it's not his fault. Tell him that he still has a job," he urged.

Jack raked his hands through his untamed hair, which matched his dishevelled appearance. "I-I don't know Phil, I don't know. I mean, I mean of course he has a job and of course it's not his fault. But-but I-I, but you're wrong Phil it is my fault," he stammered, as he looked around – avoiding eye contact.

Phil sighed; he knew what Jack was feeling all to well. "Jack, look I know it's difficult but put aside your feelings. Just go and visit Danny," he pleaded.

Jack slowly nodded. He slowly walked to his desk and grabbed his coat. It had felt colder since he had opened Danny's case. He didn't know if that was because of guilt or the actual temperature. He bid a vague goodbye and thanks to Phil before he headed out of the door. He knew he should have done this several hours ago, but he had been so riddled with guilt that he hadn't. He had been too weak, too selfish to visit one of his agents. An agent who has no one, Jack sighed that's where things got complicated. Danny did have a family member who he apparently loved – his mother. The complicated thing was that she believed Danny was dead and they hadn't seen each other in fourteen years.

Jack looked up and stared in disbelief as he found himself outside the hospital. He silently cursed for not asking Phil for a lift, he was obviously not in the right state to drive. He wandered as though he was in a trance through the endless cold, sterile, hospital corridors. He closed his eyes briefly as some how arrived outside Danny's room. He stared inside at the pale form as he tried to prepare himself, but he took a breath and pushed the door open. He grimaced as he noted the still vivid bruises and ghostly pale skin, that looked starkly white compared to the white sheets. He slowly sat down and took Danny's hand, being careful not to mess up any of the tubes or wires attached to his agent. He was glad Danny was asleep as it gave him a chance to continue to prepare himself.

Danny groaned as he felt the morphine wearing off. He would do anything to numb the pain or the endless thoughts and images running through his head. He would even have a drink, just to forget for a couple of hours. He knew he had to make a decision about his mother, but he didn't know what that decision should be. The team – well Phil and Viv had really supportive, but he still didn't know what to do. And then there was Jack and his job. Phil and Viv had tried to reassure him that he still had his job, but he didn't believe it – why else would Jack be avoiding him?

Jack blinked several time as Danny stirred. He reached forward and took Danny's hand. "Danny, it's okay. You are safe now," he reassured.

Danny slowly opened his eyes, but had to blink several times in disbelief. He couldn't believe Jack was there. He closed his eyes again without a word. The only reason Jack was here was to fire him.

"It's okay," Jack reassured. He clenched his jaw, Phil had been right. Danny was blaming himself. If he hadn't been so messed with his thoughts, he would've seen this and done something about it sooner. But he hadn't, just like he hadn't helped Danny before. He had failed him and he was continuing to fail. "It's not your fault, I don't blame you for anything."

Danny frowned and slowly turned his head to face Jack. "What?" he said in a small weak voice. "S-So you're n-not going to fire me?"

"No of course not, why do you think that?"

"Because of what I have done!" Danny exclaimed

"You did nothing wrong! You paid blackmail, which isn't illegal. You got shot, which isn't illegal. You were kidnapped! You did nothing wrong, so why the hell would I fire you?" Jack exclaimed.

Danny tried to concentrate on Jack's words but it was so hard. Everything was rapidly becoming one blur of pain. It was becoming increasing difficult to breathe. He tried to curl up into a protective ball, but something was stopping him. It felt like there was a lead weight on his chest. He started to cough and was vaguely aware of a warm liquid running down his chin. He didn't understand why Jack was looking so terrified. He closed his eyes as he gave into the darkness – away from the struggle, the pain and confusion.


	11. Chapter 11

**A huge thanks as always to anmodo for betaing this chapter, without her this fic would not be possible. Also thanks to everyone that has reviewed, I am glad that you are enjoying it.**

**Chapter 11**

"Danny!" Jack screamed as he watched in horror as Danny started cough up a horrendous amount of blood. "Shit, shit," he swore. As gently as he could, he grabbed Danny's shoulder and rolled him on to his side, so he wouldn't choke on his own blood. He could feel his hands shaking as he furiously stabbed the call button. "Come on, Danny; please don't do this to me. Come on kid, just hang in there." Tears streamed down his face as he tried to remain calm.

"What the hell took you so long?" Jack yelled as various doctors ran into the room. "I've been hitting that call button for fucking hours." He stumbled as he was roughly pushed backwards.

"What the hell is happening?" Jack yelled. "I thought you said he was going to be okay!"

"Let's go!"

"What? Can someone tell me what the hell's happening? Where are you taking him?" Jack demanded.

"I don't have time. We've gotta to get him up to surgery. Now!" the doctor said in a quick, clipped tone.

Jack stood in a stunned shock as they rushed Danny back into surgery. This couldn't be happening. Why did it have to happen to Danny? After everything he had been through in his short life. The doctors said he was going to be okay. Or, did they say if he came through the first 48 hours he would be okay? Or, was it he maybe all right? He just couldn't remember. It had to be his fault. He knew that Danny didn't need to be stressed and what had he done? He had stressed him. He knew he should've stayed, but in his selfish pigheaded way he thought that he had been doing the right thing. But had he actually thought about Danny for a single second? No. He had only been thinking about revenge. And now Danny might die because of it. He collapsed against the wall and held his head in hands. Tears streamed down his face as he thought of Danny and what he had done. He thought of the hot-headed agent that everyone had advised him against recruiting, but from the moment he had met Danny, he knew he had made the right choice. Danny was the prefect addition to his team. With his connection to the streets and his warm, charismatic nature, he got witnesses to open up, who would've never spoken to him. Sure Danny took risks but they were risks that paid off. Jack closed his eyes as he thought back to a case a little over a week ago. Seven year old Jake Morgan had disappeared from his school. It turned out he had been kidnapped by his teacher, David Roberts. David had been on the sex offenders list for years but somehow, he had slipped through the system.

Flashback

"_Thanks, we are on our way," Jack said as he quickly ended the call. "We've got a possible sighting at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge," he said as he turned to his newest recruit. Danny was a good agent, but he was hot-headed. He wished that he had been with Phil or Viv, as they would be more likely to keep a lid on their temper._

_Danny's expression darkened as he hit the accelerator hard. In his opinion, nothing was worse than paedophiles. There was no way that was going to let his bastard spend a second longer with the kid. He barely slowed down for the corner, causing the car's back-end to kick out._

"_Damn-it, Danny. Slow down!" Jack yelled, as he grabbed hold of the door handle and held on as if his life depended in it. "We need to get there. Not die!"_

"_I can handle it," Danny growled as he concentrated on the road, still not bothering to slow down._

"_NO Danny! You need to slow down RIGHT NOW!" Jack yelled._

"_No we need to get to the Brooklyn Bridge NOW!"_

"_STOP, stop the goddamn car right now!" Jack yelled. He slammed his hands against the dashboard as the car came to an abrupt and sudden stop. He turned and glared at Danny. "Look I know this case is affecting you. I know you want to get the kid back, but you have to put a lid on that temper of yours!"_

_Danny glared at Jack before he quickly looked down. "Fine! Can we go now?" He silently kicked himself, for how much he sounded like a little kid. But right now he didn't care, he just wanted get Jake safely back to his family._

_Jack sighed and raked a hand through his hair. "Fine, but can you drive slower this time?"_

_Danny just glared at Jack, before he spun the wheels back on to the road. After a hair-raising journey, they arrived at the Brooklyn Bridge and Jack sighed in relief._

"_Danny I want you to say here," Jack said as he glared at Danny before he got out of the car and slammed the door._

_Danny glared at the retreating figure. He crossed his arms and sighed heavily. He couldn't believe that Jack didn't trust him and was forcing him to stay in the car. He could feel his anger begin to boil over and punched the steering wheel in frustration. There was no way he was going to just sit here when Jake was being held by some sick paedophile._

_As he stepped out the car, he hugged his coat closer to his body as the ice cold wind bit into him. Danny was a good kid and a talented agent, but he just needed to control that temper of his. He knew that Danny would be pissed when he had forced him to stay in the car, but he would just have deal with it later. He sighed as he put these thoughts to the back of his mind and concentrated on the task in hand. But as soon as he walked towards the small group of police he knew something was wrong. It happened so fast, there was nothing that he could do to stop it. Robert stepped off the wall and into the icily cold depths of Hudson. He didn't know what exactly happened next but he saw a dark streak followed by a splash. He spun around and saw the car door was open and Danny was no where to be seen. "Shit," he swore. "Danny, Danny."_

_Danny opened the door and leaned against the car. He carefully watched the two figures on the waters edge. He saw it before it happened. He sprinted towards the river and dived in. The icy water caused him to gasp. But he continued to swim deeper – searching for any sign of Jake. He could feel his lungs burning as he fought against his body's need for oxygen. He saw a dark shape move below him, and desperately swam towards it. It grabbed hold of what he thought was Jake and kicked out at the larger dark shape. His lungs were screaming for oxygen now, as he rapidly kicked towards the surface. Finally after what felt like a lifetime, he made it to the surface. The ice cold air stung his face. He was just about to start looking around for any sign of land, when several sets of hands grabbed him and pulled him out of the mucky depths._

_Jack rushed towards the water's edge, desperately yelling at Danny, even though he knew it would have no affect. He ran down the river, following the current, hoping that Danny would surface. His heart skipped a beat when he saw people ahead of him pulling something out of the river. He sprinted towards the group, not knowing what he would find. He smiled with relief when he saw a wet and cold, but very much alive Danny Taylor clutching 7-year old Jake._

"_Danny what the hell were you thinking?" Jack yelled out of fear and concern._

"_U-mm, I-I," Danny stammered as he looked down. _

"_You could've got yourself killed!" Jack said as he nodded at the medics as they took Jake towards the ambulance._

"_U-mm, I-I, I'm really sorry."  
_

"_Stay there," Jack growled as he stalked off._

_Danny drew his knees up to his chest and buried his head in them as he leaned against the wall. Why had he fucked up? Why was he always fucking up? He had finally got a good job, and he had screwed up - like he always did. He heard a voice, it sounded like Jack but it couldn't be; it was gentle and concerned._

_As Danny leaned forward Jack gently draped a blanket around his shoulders. "Are you all right?"_

"_I'm really sorry, Jack. I'm really sorry that I broke protocol. I just, I just had to do something. I couldn't let that bastard kill Jake. I'm really sorry," Danny mumbled an apology._

"_It's all right Danny; sometimes protocol has to be broken. You just scared the hell out of me. That's all. What you did was against protocol but still incredibly brave. But next time; tell me before you do it." He watched Danny slowly nod. "Right. Let's get you up; your ride awaits you."_

"_What? Why do I need to go to hospital?" Danny exclaimed._

"_I dunno. Maybe it has something to do with that you took a dip in the Hudson in November. Also I think Jake would like some company," Jack said with a smile. He helped Danny up and walked towards the waiting ambulance with him. He found a huge smile as he watched Danny talking to the terrified looking Jake and before he knew it, Danny had Jake laughing. Yes, Danny Taylor maybe hot-headed, but he was really special._

_End of flashback._

"Jack, Jack"

Jack shook his head in an attempted to clear it was he heard someone yelling at him. He looked up to see a confused and scared looking Phil standing over him.

"Jack, what's happened? Where's Danny?"

"U-mm, he, he was fine and then he…"

"He what Jack?" Phil said cutting Jack off. "What the hell happened?"

"He, I was talking to him and then he started to cough up blood. They took him up to surgery again. I-I don't want happened, they're not telling me anything," Jack stammered as he raked his hands through his hair.

"Shit!" Phil swore. "Okay you stay there and I will try and find someone that will tell us what the hell's going on." He was just about walk out, when the door was opened and Danny was wheeled in. He gasped at the state of his young colleague. The dark circles under his eyes stood out in stark contrast to his skin that was so pale that it looked transparent. "What the hell happened? Is he going to be okay?" he demanded as he rested a gentle hand on Danny's forehead.

"We thought that we had got all of the bleeding but we hadn't" the doctor started.

"Is he going to be okay?"

Doctor's expression turned grim. "I have no idea. He's on a knife edge, I really don't know," he sighed. "He needs some kind of a miracle. If he makes it through the night, I may feel a little more optimistic."

"So you're basically saying he's dying," Jack said in a small lost voice, as he bit back the tears that threatened.

Phil watched the doctor nod and leave. "You heard him Jack. Danny needs a miracle. He needs his mom. We have to tell her."

Jack sighed. He wanted to wait until Danny had improved enough to make the decision, but unless a miracle happened Danny would never see another sunrise. "Okay, but you stay there. Talk to him, make sure he knows he's safe and he's not alone. Make sure he fights. Make sure he knows that I don't blame him and still has a place on my team."

"Of course. Go, we don't have time to hang around," Phil said as he sat next to Danny.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jack paced up and down outside the small Manhattan safe house that Danielle Alvarez was residing in. He tried to figure out what and how he was going to tell Danielle about her son. How do you tell someone who thought her son died fifteen years ago that he was alive but who could well die before the end of the day? He bit his lip and leaned against the wall. He had to do it. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he knocked on the door. He had only waited a few moments before the door was opened but as far he was concerned it felt like hours.

"Agent… sorry Jack what are you doing here? Did you find your missing agent?" Danielle said as she opened the door.

"U-mm, ehh yes, yes we did," Jack stammered. He silently cursed. He was already falling apart and he hadn't even mentioned Danny yet, what was he going to do when he eventually told her about Danny.

"Sorry where are my manners, please come in," Danielle said. She looked Jack up and down as she tried to figure out why he was here. She sighed. It had to do with Marco. There was no other logical reason. "Do you want anything to drink?" She forced a smile, as she tried not to imagine what that animal had done to an FBI agent.

"U-mm, no I'm okay thank you," Jack said as he forced a small smile. "Danielle, I need to tell you something," he managed to blurt out.

"O…Okay," Danielle said slowly as she sank down on the couch, her eyes not leaving his disheveled form. "Did Marco do something? Because if he did, I am so sorry and I will do anything I can to help you."

Jack slowly looked up before he quickly looked away. "Y-Yes Marco. U-mm I don't know how to tell you this but, Marco u-mm he's dead."

Danielle felt as though her heart had skipped a beat. She didn't know what to do. She had spent years sadistically praying, wishing for her husband's dead and now it had happened, she felt…. she didn't know how she felt. She felt happy, relieved but strangely lost and sad at the same time. "Oh." She managed. "How did it happen?"

"I'm so sorry but it couldn't be avoided. He was shot when we were clearing a building," Jack explained as calmly and gently as he could.

"So he shot at you first?"

"Not at me personally but at my colleagues, yes."

"It doesn't sound like you had a choice," Danielle said calmly. She bit her lip as she felt her emotions being to get the better of her. Despite abusive bastard he had been, Marco had still been her husband. She had someone and now she had no one. "Was this anything to do with your missing agent?"

"Yes," Jack replied simply, not knowing what else to say.

"Are they okay?" Danielle asked, she wasn't particularly interested but it was a way of making conversation and avoiding the painful truth that she was now alone in this world.

"U-mm, u-mm he's alive but I need to talk to you about this," Jack said as he looked around the room - looking anywhere but at Danielle.

Danielle frowned. Why would Jack want to talk to her about his missing agent and why was he avoiding eye contact? "Okay," she said slowly.

"He's, u-mm there is no easy way to tell you this but, u-mm he's," Jack stammered.

"He's what Jack?"

"He is a member of my hand picked team and he's your son," Jack blurted out. He took a breath after realized that he'd finally said it. He looked up to see Danielle in a dazed shock as she tried to comprehend what he had just told her. But how could blame her? He had just told her that his missing agent was the son, who she believed was dead.

"No you're wrong; both of my sons are dead!" Danielle explained as she suddenly stood up and walked towards the window. "I don't know what you are trying to do, but both of my sons are dead!" She stared out at the cold, grey Manhattan morning. Jack didn't seem like the kind of person that would joke around, but both her sons were dead.

Jack sighed, as he slowly stood up and walked towards the window. "I know this is hard, but DNA confirms it. Danny is great young man…a great agent."

"Why are you doing this to me? My baby died when that bastard got drunk and drove our car fifteen years ago. Why are you doing this to me, Jack? Danny was my whole world," Danielle yelled as tears streamed down her face. "He was my whole world, Jack. And there isn't a day that goes passed when I don't miss him. But he's gone, my baby's gone."

Jack bit his lip as he handed over the DNA test results and Danny's FBI ID. "I don't know what happened fifteen years ago, but what I do know is that Danny is alive. He's on my team."

Danielle wiped her eyes as she was handed two items. She stared at them for a while as she tried to work what they were. The man in the photo was about twenty-five years old, but he had… he had Danny's eyes. It couldn't be true; her baby was murdered by that bastard fifteen years ago. She stared that the DNA report. It compared her DNA to the DNA of a Special Agent Danny Taylor. "I don't understand, I don't understand," she stammered. "This is comparing my DNA with a Danny Taylor."

"Danny changed his name to Taylor when he was eighteen," Jack explained.

"What? I don't understand, are you telling me, my baby is alive and a FBI agent?" Danielle asked as she still tried to grasp an understanding of the facts.

"Yes," Jack said with a slight smile. But his smile soon faded when he thought of Danny and the condition he was in.

"So he changed his name and he's alive."

"I guess he wanted to escape and start fresh," Jack suggested.

"Wait. You said he was the missing agent and you had found him. What happened? Did Marco hurt him? Is he okay? Can I see him?" Danielle said as she rapidly fired off questions.

Jack sighed and raked his hands through his disheveled hair. "U-mm, I think you should sit down," he suggested.

"No, you said he was alive. I want you tell me what's happened to my baby," Danielle demanded.

"He-he's, he was kidnapped by Marco. We got him back but…"

"But what?" Danielle yelled cutting Jack off. "You said he was alive. What aren't you telling me?"

"I really think that you should sit down."

"No, I really think you should tell me what the hell has happened to MY SON," Danielle yelled back.

"He's been hurt."

"H-How bad?" Danielle exclaimed.

"He's in a critical condition and his doctors aren't optimistic," Jack said sadly

Danielle put her hand over her mouth and collapsed onto the couch. "What's wrong with him? What did that bastard do to my sweet angel?" she said as tears began to stream down her face.

"He's been shot and beaten," Jack said quietly, as he sat down next to Danielle. "But he's Danny, he will pull through."

"Oh my poor baby! I should've protected when he was younger. I should've left that bastard years ago and then maybe none of this would've happened," Danielle cried, not even trying to stop the tears that streamed down her face now. "How bad is he hurt? Please, Jack, I need to know. He's my baby; he's all I have in the world. I need to see him, I want to help, and I want to look after him."

Jack slowly nodded as he tried to figure out how to tell a distraught Danielle, how badly hurt her dying son was. "He's very sick…"

"Please, Jack, I need to know how bad he is," Danielle pleaded.

Jack sighed and raked his hands through his hair again. "He's got a least six broken ribs, a punctured lung, pneumonia, a broken wrist, concussion and possible internal bleeding," he said as gently as possible. "They thought that they had got all of the internal bleeding but… they hadn't and a few hours ago he started bleeding internally again. Now they think they have got all this time but the extra surgery and trauma has significantly weakened him."

Danielle swallowed hard as she slowly digested the information. "Can I see him?" she asked in a small, lost voice.

"Of course," Jack replied. He stood up and held his hand out as he helped Danielle to her feet.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Phil stretched as he tried to work the clinks out of his back. In the hours he had sat there Danny, had remained completely unresponsive. The only thing that happened was that he had continued to deteriorate. He wished Jack would hurry up, with Danny's present condition he didn't know if he would be alive when his mother arrived. This was so unbelievably unfair. Danny had spent his life, living through hell and when it finally began to take a turn for the better – this happened. Hadn't he been through enough without this happening? Hadn't Danielle been through enough without this happening? He didn't, none of them wanted Danielle to go through the pain of losing her son all over again, but she was Danny's only hope. He reached forwards and took Danny's cold, limp hand.

"Hey kiddo. I don't know if you hear me, but if you can you've got to fight. Jack's gone to get your mom and she loves you Danny-boy, she really does. You've got to fight kiddo so the two of you can be reunited again." He sighed as the pale, unmoving figure remained unresponsive. He raked a hand through his hair as he tried to bite back tears. But he couldn't as he felt tears begin to stream down his face. He couldn't fight the feeling that this was all his fault.

He stumbled through the darkness. Everywhere he looked seemed darker that before. All he wanted was to be at peace, to escape this dark, pain ridden hell. Some thing made him turn, he felt himself shake with fear when his saw the monster before him. It was something that was usually reserved for horror movies, only this monster had his father's eyes. He tried to run away from it, but the monster's powerful claws knocked him down. He saw a beautiful bright white light and tried to crawl towards it, but the monster started to pull him back into the cold, dark corridors.

"Danny?" Phil said as the monitors began to scream. "Shit! Danny, no. No, you can't so this to me. Please Danny, come on kid fight it," Phil cried as he repeatedly hit the call button. "Danny you have to fight." He was so wrapped with concern over Danny that he didn't notice the medical team and that had swarmed in, until they pushed him backwards.

"What the hell's happening?" he yelled as he was pushed backwards.

He tried to run from the monster that persuaded him, but it was no good. Each turn he made ended in a dead end. He saw the beautiful white light and ran towards it; maybe it would lead him to freedom – away from this hell. But as he ran into the open space it erupted into flames. The scorching heat burned him. He span around as he looked for a means of escape but all he could see was fire and the monster.

Jack stood silently next to Danielle as the elevator made its slow journey towards the top floor. They had barely spoken a word since they had left the safe house, apart from when Danielle had asked him to drive faster. But he didn't blame, if was his girls, nothing would stop him from being there for them. "Are you okay?" he asked as the elevator door slid open.

"No, but he's my baby. But are you ever ready to see one of your babies in ICU in a critical condition," Danielle said sadly.

"I guess not," Jack replied quietly. He quickened his pace as he saw and heard the fury of activity in the direction of Danny's room. He was frozen to the stop when he reached the doorway and saw the medical team surrounding Danny. This couldn't be happening, Danny couldn't die. He stumbled as he was pushed roughly aside.

As soon as Danielle saw the scene, she felt her maternal instincts rushing back – nothing was going between her and her son. She pushed passed a group of people, not stopping until she reached her son. Tears started to stream down her face when she saw how pale her baby was. "Oh Danny, its okay I'm here, I'm going to look after you," she said as tears streamed down her face.

He curled up into a protective ball as the monster bore down on him and waited for the monster to land his killer blow. But it never happened. He slowly looked up to see the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. An angel was standing over him, she was talking to him but he couldn't make out the words. She bent down and gently stroked his hair. He leant into the touch; he thought he knew this lady. He closed his eyes as she gently held. It was over, it was finally over.


	12. Chapter 12

**Apologises for the delay in posting, but I had writers block, anyway…. A huge, huge thanks as always to anmodo for betaing this fic, without her this fic would not be possible. Also thanks to everyone that has reviewed this fic, I am glad you enjoyed it.**

**Chapter 12**

"It's okay, baby. It's okay. I'm here, I'm not going to let anyone hurt you," Danielle said softly as she continued to stroke Danny's hair. "I'm so sorry that I haven't always been there for you, but I'm here now and I'm never going to abandoned you again."

The room became silent as Danny's heart rate returned to normal. "Can someone tell me what just happened?" Phil asked in a much softer tone than he had previously used.

"I don't know," the doctor started. "I guess, well my guess, is that he had some kind of nightmare or panic attack. But because of his current condition his body can't take it. It's imperative that he remains calm."

"I'm staying here, I'm not leaving," Danielle said in a determined tone.

"I'm sorry ma'am but…"

"I'm his mother," Danielle said fiercely. "And there is no way I am leaving my son."

"Okay but as long as you don't disturb him, he really needs to rest," the doctor said quietly as he continued to check Danny's vitals.

"I won't, I just need to be here for him," Danielle said in a near whisper. She took Danny's hand in hers and gently squeezed it. "Don't you understand he's been through hell, he doesn't need to be alone."?

Phil watched the doctor leave the room. "Is there anything I can get you?" he asked softly.

"No thank you. Everything I have in the world is here," Danielle said as she desperately fought back the tears that threatened. "He's my whole world." She bit her lip as she continued to stroke Danny's hair gently.

"Of course, but if you need anything, anything at all please phone me," Phil said as he pressed his card into Danielle's hand. "Don't worry about what time it is."

"Thanks," Danielle said quietly.

Jack nodded as he watched Phil leave. He turned his attention back to Danny and Danielle. He swallowed hard when he saw the pain in Danielle's eyes, but who could blame her? He tried to put himself in her shoes. What if it was Hannah or Kate lying so deathly still in that hospital bed not Danny? What would he being doing? He sighed; he would be tearing his hair out and hunting the bastards down. But he had done that for Danny, so why didn't he feel any better? Danielle was obviously a very strong woman, but after the last couple of days she had been on an emotional rollercoaster. First she had been held hostage, then she had been rescued. She had found out her husband was dead and then she had found out her son, who she thought had died 15 years ago, was alive. And now this…

"Danielle, as Phil said, if there is anything you need. If there is anything we can do for you, please just tell us," Jack said softly as he approached her.

"You know…he was such an energetic kid," Danielle said in a near whisper.

"That does not surprise me," Jack replied softly

"I don't think he ever sat still for a minute and he was always moving in his sleep," Danielle said as she tried to bite back the tears that threatened as she watched the still, pale figure. "Do you have children, Jack?"

"Two girls."

"How old are they?"

"Two and six months," Jack replied.

"Such sweet ages and so nice to have them so close together in age. But they will always be your babies," Danielle said sadly as a tear ran down her face. "He will always be my baby."

Jack stood back and nodded sadly. He felt as though he had suddenly become mute as he struggled to come up with some comforting words – but found none. He couldn't even begin to imagine what Danielle had gone through and what she was continuing to go through. He knew if it had been one of his girls, he would be an emotional wreck.

"What's he like now, Jack? I missed so much of his life," Danielle said in an emotional whisper.

"You'd be very proud of him. He's an exceptional young man with a heart of gold," Jack said proudly. He paused briefly before he continued, as he tried to sum up Danny Taylor in a nutshell. "I had about fifty applications for the opening on my team and I chose Danny." He walked forward and rested a gentle hand on Danny's forehead. "And I have never regretted that decision. I doubt I ever will."

Danielle found a soft smile as she looked proudly at her son. "Is he still…"?

"Madly energetic? Yes, he seems have an endless supply of energy, which is never a good thing when we are stuck in the office doing paperwork," Jack said with a smile. "But useful if we have to go door to door on a 10 storey walk-up."

"He's so still… He's so pale," Danielle said in a small, lost voice.

"He's tough, he's going to just fine," Jack finished in a determined voice.

"But you heard what the doctor said…" Danielle said as tears began to fall uncontrollably down her face.

Jack walked over to Danielle and put a hesitate hand on her shoulder. "In the short time I have known Danny, I have learn a few things about him, one of which is that is stubborn and a fighter. He won't let this thing beat him, just you wait."

"I hope so Jack, I hope so. He's all I have. He can't die, I don't know what I would do if he does," Danielle said tearfully as she leant into Jack's touch.

"He can hear you, Danielle. Just talk to him, it helped him before. He knows that you won't hurt him. I think somehow he even knows, who you are," Jack said as he swallowed hard.

"What shall I say? I have seen him in fifteen years!" Danielle exclaimed. "I abandoned him Jack, I abandoned him. He must hate me. And now in his time of need, I don't know what to do. How appalling is that? I should know what to say, he's my baby and he needs help, but I just don't know what to say."

"Tell him how much you miss him. Tell him how much you love him. Just…" Jack paused for a moment. "Just talk to him Danielle; he needs to know he's not alone and that he's safe. He needs to hear your voice."

Danielle quietly nodded, as she wiped the tears from her face. She reached out and took Danny's hand in hers and gently kissed. "Baby I know you're scared, but you're safe know. He can never hurt you again. Please baby you have to wake up, there's lots of people, who are really worried about you."

Jack shifted nervously from one foot to the other. This was obviously a very private moment between a mother and her long lost son. He hated to break the moment. "U-mm Danielle, I-I was w-wondering…"

"Oh I'm so sorry Jack, I was so caught up with Danny that I forgot that you probably want to go him to your family," Danielle said as she took her eyes off Danny for a moment.

"Not if you don't want me to go. Danielle if you want me to stay I will be more that happy to stay with you."

"No, its okay, should be spending time with your family," Danielle said as she returned her glaze to her son.

"Only if you are sure, but please if you need anything; just call me. Don't worry about the time or however trivia you think it is."

"I will Jack and thank you for everything you have done for Danny."

"I would like to think that I helped, but I didn't, it was all him," Jack said with a smile. He walked forward and squeezed Danny's good shoulder. "Hey kiddo, I'm going to leave for the night, but your mom is going to be here, so you're not going to be alone." He sighed, when he got no response for the pale, unmoving figure. "I will be back tomorrow, Danny, but before I go, I just want you to know how proud I am of you. I'm going to talk to Olcyck tomorrow and tell him that you are a permanent member of my team." He gently ruffled Danny's hair before he turned to leave. "Danielle please, if there is anything you need, do not hesitate to phone any of us, no matter what the time is."

"I can't thank you enough, Jack. You and your team have already done so much for me, there is no way I will ever be able to repay you."

"There nothing that needs to be repaid, Danny just needs to wake up and get better," Jack said in a concerned voice. "But he will, Danielle. Don't you worry; he will get better," he added quickly as he saw Danielle's downcast expression.

"Thank you," Danielle whispered to the retreated figure. A lone tear streaked down her face as she turned her attention but to her fallen son. "Danny-baby, everything's going to okay, but you just have to fight." She gently squeezed his hand, and hoped for a response but got none.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A thick mist surrounded him, but in the distance, he could see a soft light and heard a familiar voice. He somehow knew that he would be safe if he went towards them. But as he went towards them, the pain and confusion increased. He wanted to turn and flee the pain and confusion; to go back to the darkness where there was no pain or confusion, but something was stopping him. Despite the pain and confusing place he was being pulled to, was strangely confronting. He slowly opened his eyes and was met with a stark white room.

Danielle looked sadly at her son again. He hadn't shown any signs of improvement, but at least she could be thankful of one thing – he hadn't deteriorated. But there was something different this time, for the first time in 15 years she saw those beautiful brown eyes that she has so missed over those dark filled years.

"Danny?" she said, as she gently stroked his hair.

Danny frowned; this was the angel in his visions. Only this angel was his mother and she was dead, so this only could mean one thing, "Am I dead?" he asked in a hoarse weak whisper.

"What?" Danielle said as she carefully leant forward.

"I-I, d-don't understand mom, am I dead?" Danny asked again – trying to be louder this time. But the effort caused tears of pain to escape from his eyes.

"No baby, you're not dead," Danielle said leant forward and gently kissed his forehead. "You're in Mount Sinai hospital in New York. But you're going to be just fine, you just need to rest."

Danny nodded, he tried to stay awake a little longer, but he could already feel his eyes closing. He some how knew that with his mom by his side, everything was going to be okay, as he sank into a peaceful slumber.

Danielle wiped the tears from her eyes, but she couldn't stop them from falling. Her Danny, her baby boy, her sweet angel was alive and he recognised her. She knew he was still very sick and that he would remain weak for a while. But he was alive, and there was nothing that was going to stand in-between her looking after her precious Danny-boy. She gently rubbed his arm and kissed his forehead again. Her Danny was a fighter; he would beat this. Her prayers had been answered – she had been reunited with her son.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Over the next couple of days, Danny was in and out of it, but Danielle had barely left her son's side. She had lost him fifteen years ago and she couldn't bring herself to leave him. He was all she had. She couldn't describe how proud she was of him. Despite everything going against him, he had beaten the odds and had climbed out of the hole that Marco had created for them. She sighed, part of selfishly worried that when Danny became more aware of her surrounds, he would reject her – he wouldn't want anything to do with her. A single tear ran down her face as she stroked his hair. Althout he had improved, he was still giving the doctors cause for concern.

"Sweetie, it's okay. Baby, you're safe now," Danielle said, for what felt like the millionth time, but the words still hadn't lost any of their meaning. She waited for a response, but didn't expect one.

Danny slowly opened his eyes when he heard a familiar voice. He hadn't heard it for a long time, but the visions of the voice where surrounded in happiness and laughter. There was no fear or pain related to these images, with some effort he turned his head towards the voice and frowned. It couldn't be – he had to be dead. The bastard had killed her, despite his best efforts. "Mom?" he croaked.

Danielle jumped when she heard the weak, hoarse voice and found a set of unfocused eyes staring at her. "That's right, my sweet angel," she managed to say as she leant forward and gently stroked his cheek.

"W-Where, u-mm w-what. I-I don't understand," Danny stammered.

Danielle frowned for a second, as she tried to work out what her son was so confused about. "You're in a hospital in New York," she explained.

"B-But, but I don't understand. He-he said…you were dead. He-he said he-he had murdered you," Danny stammered, as he tried to make sense of things in his confused state.

"Oh Danny! I think he was going to, but your colleagues found me," Danielle said gently as she kissed his forehead. "Do you need anything?"

"I-I don't know," Danny stammered in a small, lost voice. "Water?"

"Of course, I'm so sorry." She gently supported his head as she a cup of water with a straw up to his mouth.

Danny took a long drink and moaned as the cool water soothed his dry throat. "So what happened?"

"What happened when?" Danielle asked, slightly confused by Danny's question.

"After the car crash, what happened? I was told that both of you died," Danny said. As tired as he was, he needed answers. He had spent most of his life believing his parents were dead and then, when he had just turned eighteen his father contacted him. At first, he thought it was a joke but then his father showed up. He changed his name in attempt to escape, but it was no good – he still found him. Then the bastard showed him a photo of his mother bound and beaten. That's when it started. He had no one to turn to. The only person who had ever cared about him was the one in danger. What choice did he have? He had to save her and so his life of blackmail began.

"I remember waking up at the hospital and Marco telling me we had to go. He had been drinking and he was sure the cops were after him. Then-then he told me…" Danielle stopped and swallowed hard. Even though she knew she Danny was alive, talking about the worse moment of her life was like re-living it. "Then he told me that you were dead. It was the worst moment of my life. I was so wrapped up in guilt and mourning that I barely noticed the weeks or months that passed. I never knew you were alive or that bastard was blackmailing you, until your boss Agent Malone told me a couple of days ago."

"I'm sorry," Danny said, as he felt a new wave of guilt sweep over him.

"You did nothing wrong, Danny, you were just a kid," Danielle reassured.

"I should've got you out before. I should've done something other than just pay him," Danny said in a slightly lost voice.

"You did everything you could. You climbed out of that hole that he created for us, and became a success. I'm so proud of you," Danielle said as ran a thumb across his cheekbone.

"But I'm not going to have a job after what happened. I mean Jack is never going to trust me, I doubt he did in the first place."

"That's not the impression I got. I saw a man who really cares about his team, and he definitely still wants you on his team," Danielle reassured.

"How do you know that? I mean, I-I, u-mm seriously he won't want me on his team after all this… I really like working on Jack's team but… after this. No I've lost the best job I ever had… but I don't regret it. I-I just wish I had told him before so-so I would've never got so attached to this job. But I've screwed up now. I-I…"

"Danny, listen to me," Danielle said as she took his hand in hers. "Jack thinks you are great. He really wants you on the team, but he wants to make sure you are totally recovered before you return to work."

"But…" Danny started.

"Danny, Viv, Phil and Jack all want you on the team," Danielle reassured.

"Okay… but… I still abandoned you-" Danny started but he was soon cut off.

"You never abandoned me, if it was anyone that did the abandoning it was me. I should've left him years ago. I-I should've left him as soon as I knew I was going to have you. Then maybe none of this would have happened. I should've always been there for you when you were a kid. The first time that bastard laid a finger on you, was the day I should've left him for good. I-I'm so sorry Danny," Danielle blurted out. Tears streamed down her face as she confessed her sins of the passed. Her guilt of staying in an abusive relationship, when her son was being abused as well.

"It's not your fault, I don't blame you," Danny said tiredly, but he really meant it, as slowly moved a hand up to touch her cheek.

Danielle held Danny's hand in both of hers and smiled in between the tears. "I'm so proud of you, I'm so proud of you," she repeated.

Danny smiled as he leant in to touch that he had felt in years… a touch that he had missed… a touch that he needed through the darks days. But she was here now and somehow, despite the pain, confusion and uncertainly that surrounded him, for the first time in since his childhood he felt safe. He wanted to stay wake and talk to her about the past, the present and more importantly the future but his body wasn't co-operating. "I love you mom," he managed to say as he fought against his closing eyes.

"I love you too Danny, but you just rest, we have the rest of our lives to talk," Danielle said as she ran a hand through his hair. "Just rest Danny, I will be here when you wake up, I promise." She smiled as she watched him let his body give into the battle against sleep. "I will always be here for you Danny, I will never abandon you again," she whispered to peacefully sleeping figure.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**Several days later**

"So do you know when you're getting sprung?" Phil asked as he wandered into the room.

"No not yet, I think they are talking about sometime next week," Danny said with a bored sigh. "I mean I'm fine, I don't need to be in here for another week!"

Phil sat down in the chair next to Danny and smirked. "I know you think you're fine, but these doctors know what they are talking about. So, until you tell me you've graduated med school, I'm going to go with what the doctors are saying."

"No you don't understand, my mom is so worried. When they told us they wanted to keep me here for at least another week, she almost started crying. I can't do this to her, Phil I can't," Danny exclaimed as he raked his hand through his hair.

"Danny listen to me okay, this is not your fault. You mom is worried about you because she is your mom and you know what I think she would terrified if you discharged yourself only to pass out later," Phil said firmly.

"I-I wasn't going to discharge myself, I just don't want her to worry."

"Sorry kid, she is always going to worry about you, and there's nothing you can do about it," Phil said with a smile.

"There's another thing; I never thanked you for what you did for me that day. I never thanked you for saving my life," Danny said quietly.

"You don't need to thank me, I was just doing my job and anyway that's what partners do. We watch each others' backs. You would've done the same thing," Phil replied.

"I guess, it's just… I dunno," Danny said in a small, lost voice as he stared as his hands for a while. He swallowed hard as he tried to regain his composure.

"Whatever's bothering you have to talk to someone about it okay?" Phil said gently. "You don't want it to mess you up. Please promise me that, you will talk to someone."

"Yeah, I will," Danny replied with a slight nervous smile. He took a breath a he tried to process his thoughts and emotions. "You know that was the first time I've in a helicopter. In fact it was the first time I've flown," he said suddenly changing the subject.

Sensing that Danny didn't want to talk him or his emotions anymore, he followed Danny's lead and stayed with new topic. "Seriously? You've never flown before that chopper ride?" he exclaimed with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, I didn't have much when I was a kid and when we moved up to New York, Rafi drove us. It's just pity I will never remember that flight," Danny said sadly.

"I dunno if you're interested but I can fly. I have my pilot's license and one of my friends upstate has a plane, so if you're interested and when you are feeling up to it, I can take you up," Phil suggested.

Danny grinned, "That would be great!"

"How long have you had your licence? How many flight hours do you have? And how many times is that plane serviced?" Danielle demanded as she walked into the room. She crossed the room and laid a gentle kiss on Danny's forehead.

"U-mm, ehh I've had the licence since I was 21, I have several hundred hours flight time and my friend's plane is serviced every six months," Phil stammered nervously as he looked at his feet.

"Well I will see about that!" Danielle said sharply before she turned her attention back to Danny. "Is there anything you need?"

"No. I'm good."

"Well I'm going across the street to get some food, where I'm going to get you some food."

"Mom, I'm fine," Danny whined

"Don't mom me, you're too skinny and you need to eat if you want to recover," Danielle replied firmly. She squeezed his hand, before she headed out of the room. "Oh and Agent Glanville we will be talking about the flying later."

"Y-Yes ma'am," Phil stammered. He heard the door close and glared at the sniggering figure. "What's so funny?" he growled.

"Nothing, just I can't believe the 'big scary ex-DELTA force, ex-SWAT Phil Glanville' is scared of my little mom," Danny chucked.

"Your '_little mom'_ is one scary, protective lady; I wouldn't want to cross her especially if it has anything to do with you." Phil paused and smiled before adding, "I will have you know Jack is terrified of your mom. An official from DC tells him what to do and he will roll his eyes and say yes ssirrrrr. Your mom walks in, and he's almost standing to attention, 'yes ma'am no ma'am'. It's quite funny."

Danny grinned. "So are you going take me flying, or are you going to run and hide from my mom?" he joked.

"Yeah I will, but I will just tell her about the time Jack didn't wait for backup a few weeks ago. You know the time when we stormed that building full of arms dealers, that should sort them for a while," Phil said with an evil grin.

"True but we may come back to find a barbequed Jack," Danny laughed.

Phil smiled, he was so relived to see Danny smiling and joking. "But seriously Danny if you wanna go up and have a buzz around, no problem, I will set it up."

"That would be really great," Danny replied. "That would be really great," he repeated in a near whisper. He didn't think Phil knew how much it meant to him. How much they all meant to him. For the first time in his life he had people that cared about him. He had people that actually give a shit about him. To begin with it, he didn't understand, it disturbed him. But now, he found it comforting.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**Several days later**

Jack leant back in his chair and smiled. He had finally, after dealing with too many pencil-pushing maggots, sorted everything out. Danielle was going to be allowed to stay in the US. She was going to be allowed to live a free life with her son. Danny was going to make a full recovery. In fact he was going to be discharged or 'released' as he called it, from the hospital in a few days, he had a couple of weeks recovering at home before he was going to allowed back to work. It would be a while before he was fully fit again, but considering what could've happened… what so nearly happened, they were lucky… very lucky. He smiled again when he thought about the bond that had grown between Phil and Danny. He didn't know what had transpired in that warehouse, he was curious but he didn't really care. All he knew was that Danny and Phil had developed a younger/older sibling relationship. They joked around, but Phil was seriously protective of his 'younger brother'. He sighed as he shuffled the paper together and headed out towards the hospital, this was one piece of news that he really wanted to give.

"Mom, I'm fine. I promise you, I'm fine," Danny whined at the hospital. Although he was being finally released from the hospital in a couple of days he was developing a serious case of cabin fever.

"I know you are, but I don't want to jeopardise that. I what to make sure you are as fit and healthy as possible," Danielle said in a slightly quiet and lost voice.

"Mom, what's the matter?" Danny asked as he picked up on the tone of her voice. She had become quieter and more reserved recently.

"Oh nothing, Danny nothing you need to worry yourself about," Danielle said as she forced herself to remain upbeat.

"It's not nothing, please tell me," Danny pleaded.

"I don't want you to worry."

"But I am, so please tell me, so I see if there is anything I can do."

Danielle sighed, but forced a smile. "Well you know I was never a US citizen, nor was Marco. I forced him to take me the states each time was due to give birth, just so you and Rafi could be American. So you could have a chance of life and not be trapped. I wanted to make sure that you were legal here and so they couldn't send you back. But now immigration are catching up with me and its only a matter of time before they catch up with me," she said, finishing in a near whisper.

"B-But there has to be something I can do," Danny said in a panicked tone. "There has to be… you can't go mom. I spent fifteen years apart from you, you can't go now."

"Danny, Danny take it easy, okay," Danielle said gently as she gently laid a hand on his arm. "I really don't want to go, but I don't want to jeopardise your career. So thing it would best for you in the long run, not to fight immigration and just go."

"No mom no, you can't. You can't leave me, please don't leave me," Danny pleaded as tears began to stream down his face.

"Danny it's going to okay, you're going to be okay. You have to believe me when I say this, but I really don't want to leave you, I really don't but I don't have a choice," Danielle whispered.

"Its just I thought that you would stay here. I thought that we could…. I dunno, I j-just thought that would get to know what it felt like to have a proper family. I-I don't, I'm there is something I could do, please there has to be something I can do," Danny pleaded as squeezed her hand.

"Danny you need to relax okay? This is not going to help your recovery if you get stressed like this."

"B-But how can I not, mom? You're being forced to leave, there has to be something I can do…"

"Relax," Jack growled as he walked into the room holding the file.

"How can I relax Jack, where my mom is about to be deported?" Danny shot back.

"Because she is not being deported," Jack counted.

"What?!" Danny and Danielle said together, in a mixture of shock and confusion.

"I have spoken to immigration," Jack said, "in Washington. Anyway I have sorted it, and you are free to stay in the US. You just have sign a couple of pieces of paper and you are US resident," he finished with a smile.

"What? I am sorry," Danielle apologised. "Thank you for all that you have done. But how did you do that?"

"I smiled," Jack said with a smile. "Seriously; you cooperated with the FBI and helped bring down a major terrorist cell operating in the US. You helped bring down a major drug trafficking outfit. You helped us find a kidnapped FBI agent, it's the least we could do. With a son as a FBI agent, myself and the rest of the team as sponsors, and your services to the US, citizenship will be fairly easy," he explained as he handed the papers over.

Danny looked between Jack and his mother. "I-I don't understand, u-mm thanks, I-I don't know what to say," he stammered.

"You don't need to thank me," Jack said as he continued to smile.

"I don't think I will ever be able to thank you enough," Danielle said as she handed the forms back to Jack. "I know what you said, but I can't thank you enough. I mean now I can spend time with Danny. I can, I can, I have freedom," she finished in near tears.

Danny took her hand in his and squeezed it. "Thank you Jack. Oh there's another thing, you know I am being released in a couple, well I really thing…"

"Forget it," Jack said cutting Danny off.

"But don't know what I was about to say," Danny started again.

"Yeah I do, something about – '_I know more than doctors, I don't need those couple of weeks at home recovering, in fact I am so fine I can go to work now,_" Jack said with a knowing smile.

"But I am fine!" Danny explained as he rolled his eyes.

"Danny!" Jack warned. "Anyway, I've got to get these papers to immigration, but I will probably see you later. Danny – behave!"

Danielle watched the retreating figure close the room before she turned her attention back to her son. She was still shaking… it was dream come true. All she had ever wanted was to have to freedom for herself and Danny – and now it had finally been granted. "When we get back to the apartment, I'm going to cook you a decent meal and put some meat on those bones of yours. And then I'm going to find you a nice girlfriend, so you can a wife and I can have grandchildren…."

Danny lazily smiled as he listened his mom plan his future. Most people his age would hate it, but he, Danny Taylor loved it. He finally after a lifetime of dreaming and searching he had finally found his mom.

The End


End file.
